


In Through the Window

by Bouncey



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Actor!Cody, Actress!Kelsey, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Cody and Kelsey are besties, Cody is Peter Pan, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Everyone is kinda bi, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kelsey is Wendy, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Noel runs the Audio Tech department, Non-Graphic Smut, Peter Pan - Freeform, Spock is there, Strangers to Lovers, Tech!Noel, Theatre, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Touring, did I mention the pining??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 41,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bouncey/pseuds/Bouncey
Summary: Noel Miller gets his dream job as the head Audio Tech for a touring production of "Peter Pan", based out of Los Angeles. Cody Kolodziejzyk is cast in the leading role, with hopes and dreams of hitting it big. He doesn't have much time for relationships with his whole career riding on this show; but he can't seem to stop running into the cute Audio Department guy.With his parents putting increasing pressure on him to marry a nice girl and settle down, Noel wants an escape. Who better to run away with than Peter Pan?
Relationships: Cody Ko/Noel Miller
Comments: 108
Kudos: 170





	1. Act 1: Scene 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't feeling my Little Mermaid rip-off, guys. I want to write another original AU, so I bring you this beauty (although I may finish that other one later). 
> 
> The Cody and Noel written here are caricatures of real people, and their representation in this fiction does not at all reflect Cody Ko or Noel Miller's real life opinions, sexualities, or relationships. All my respect to our Short Kings and their Badass Ladies. 
> 
> Please enjoy.

_ “Yeah but did you even make the callback, dude?” _ Spock asked, voice half an octave higher than normal as they talked over the phone.

“You don’t get callbacks for the position of Audio Technician, dumbass,” Noel snorted. “I got _ hired, _ man, that’s what I’m trying to get through your massive curtain of hair. I have a _ job _now. It’s a touring show too; I’ll get to travel across the United States and I think maybe some of Europe. Not sure about that part yet, honestly.”

_ “Man, that totally fucking rocks. I know you’ve been bummed since that local theatre closed.” _

“That sucked. Yeah, it really does rock though, dude. Things might be on the up for me.”

_ “Good. You deserve it.” _

“Now I just gotta get everything in order.”

_ “You were so excited a second ago, why do you sound like someone just kicked Ollie?” _

“Dude.”

_ “Oh shit, Ollie...Actually, no worries, man, I can keep him at my place while you’re working the tour.” _

“Spock, did you miss the part where the show running might be over a year long? I’m sure I can come back and visit occasionally but I don’t want to impose on you. Ollie’s my responsibility.”

_ “Yeah, I get that it’s a long gig. I love Ollie as my own son and I promise I will raise him with tales of your bravery,” _ Spock fake sniffled. Noel chuckled and rolled his eyes. 

“You’re a fucking hero, dude.”

The final strings that tied him to his shithole LA apartment had just been cut. He felt so goddamn _ free. _ Free from his student loan interest now that he had a steady job with regular paychecks. Free from his parents' ever-rising expectations since he wouldn’t have to see them while touring. _ Free from Los Angeles and the shitty people in it. _Except for Spock. He’d miss Spock.

“_I’ll see you tomorrow at the studio, okay? You promised.” _

“Yeah of course, I have an alarm set and everything.”

_ “Later, dude.” _

“Later, man.”

Noel took a seat at his folding card table and gathered up the hefty pile of paperwork the stage manager had given him to fill out. He needed to finish it all before reporting to work on Monday morning. Tax information, direct deposit papers, and safety handbooks he had to read and initial all laid in front of him. This process was nothing out of the ordinary; Noel was no casual tech crew member. The show he’d just been hired for wasn’t his first Broadway-level production; mostly he was excited to get his hands on the script and start mock-ups of background audio. For now there was only boring signatures and endless page flipping. It would be worth it, though. Now he had his foot in the door of show management.

Things were finally looking up for Noel Miller. 

* * *

“Holy shit, Mom, you’re never going to believe it! I did it!”

“_Cody! Language!” _

“Mom, please. This is exciting news!” 

He just wanted to tell his Mother that he’d gotten the lead before he burst into giddy tears. “I’m trying to tell you that _ I got the part! _ I officially have a leading role in a major touring production! I get to have my name on the front of the program. They’re going to film a commercial that will play on TV at night. This might be my big break, Mom! _ ” _

_ “This is so exciting, honey! Which show did you get a role in?” _

“Mom, I’m going to be playing Peter Pan!” Cody declared. He had to hold the phone away from his head as the other end of the line broke out into a series of excited exclamations and half-sentences. He could hear his Mother’s shrill voice calling his Dad into the room. 

_ “Honey! Come hear Cody’s news! We’re going to have a famous son!” _

_ “Did he get arrested or something?” _

_ “How is that good news?” _

_ “You didn’t say it was _ good _ news, just that Cody had news! What did he do?” _

_ “He’s going to be Peter Pan in that big touring show he told us about.” _

_ “That’s great, kiddo. Keep up the hard work!” _

_ “Anyway, honey, I’m so excited for you,” _ his Mother gushed. He’d been trying so hard lately. His parents had wondered why their son moved to LA instead of New York City but they hadn’t argued too much with his decision. They preferred having him slightly closer to home, anyway. Now they had to admit, Cody’s decision had been a good one. A touring role meant a lot of exposure and _ that _was good networking. Networking was the key to bigger, better roles and maybe a transition from live theatre to the silver screen. Or television. Cody’s whole future was laid out in front of him and he was terrified, but thrilled.

“I’ll talk to you more, later, okay Mom?”

_ “Alright, sweetie. Talk to you soon. Break a leg! We love you!” _

“Thanks, Mom. I love you guys, too,” Cody smiled. She hung up first. Cody set the phone down on the kitchen counter and wiped a few stray tears from his eyes. He could barely believe it himself but there was the script, sitting right in front of him. “Cody Ko - Peter Pan” was printed officially in the upper right corner and all his lines had been pre-highlighted. He picked up the hefty booklet and took a deep breath. Maybe Wade would help him run some of his lines. He only had three weeks to memorize them, after all. 

* * *

“Alright, so this isn’t a musical?” Noel clarified. The stage manager, a grouchy middle-aged lesbian named Lisa, shook her head. 

“No, thank fuck, but we do have a live orchestra for the music. They’re all unionized professionals and they have their own director. You don’t have to worry about them or their mics at all since they bring their own equipment, too. You _ do _have to worry about getting me a mockup of Act One’s sound effects before next Friday, though. Sound good, short stuff?” Lisa had her arms crossed in front of her chest and her eyes were narrowed. Noel nodded confidently, reaching out to shake her hand. This was the part he was most excited about; he was dictating the soundscape of Neverland. 

“I’ll have an Act One mockup done by next Friday and I’ll have working cans for all the light, sound, and rigging crews by this Wednesday,” Noel assured her, writing the list down on his trusty notepad. That shit never left his back pocket and it had never let him down. The stage manager let a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth as she handed Noel his official copy of the script. His name was printed on the upper right hand corner “Noel Miller - Head Audio Tech”. 

“You don’t seem too intimidated by the job, kid.”

“I can’t say I am.”

“Hmmm. I’m guessing this isn’t your first show?”

“Not in the slightest. It _ is _ my first time being in charge of Audio Tech. I’m more than willing to admit I’m a little nervous about it, dude. If anything goes wrong it’s all on my head.”

“Don’t worry, kid. We’ve all been in your shoes before. The first time I stage managed a show on my own it was goddamn _ CATS. _I fucking hate those leotard wearing assholes. If I see another spray-painted body suit in this lifetime it will be too goddamn soon.”

Noel let out a short burst of laughter, finally at ease. The feeling of _ home _that came with working a show was settling into that comfy place in Noel’s chest. That easy comfort combined with Lisa’s sailor-esque vocabulary relaxed him. The young technician finally understood what it was like to fit in with other management. As they walked to the stage together to start preliminary measurements for mic placement and set dressing, Noel’s heart rate calmed. It felt good to start off on the right foot. This was going to be his fresh start.

* * *

Cody’s heart was beating up into his throat as he sat on the edge of the stage with the rest of the cast. His legs dangled over the orchestra pit and the girl next to him giggled. He recognized her from the auditions but didn’t remember her name. Rather than admit that he asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Your legs are kinda funny dangling like that. You’re just kinda...short.”

“Well yeah. Isn’t that an advantage when you’re playing a kid? Or teenager or whatever the heck these kids are?”

“I guess.”

“‘M Cody,” he introduced, reaching out to shake her hand. Her palms were just as sweaty as his, a huge relief. She took her hand back and swiped a lock of black hair behind her ear. She smiled awkwardly at him. 

“Kelsey.”

“Nice to meet you, Kelsey.”

“You too, Cody.”

They stared at each other for a moment before the silence got to Cody and he asked: “Who are you playing?” 

“Oh, I’m going to be Wendy. I’ll also swing for Tiger Lily.”

“How in the world are you going to swing for Tiger Lily if you’re playing Wendy? She’s a main role. You don’t have off-nights, do you?”

“I have an understudy,” she shrugged. Cody was confused. Did he have an understudy? Should he know that already? Kelsey seemed so level headed and sure of herself; his heart rocketed up his throat as his anxiety spiked again. Kelsey gave him a mildly worried glance “You alright, man?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“So who are you gonna be?” Kelsey asked, leaning her arms back and straightening her elbows to prop herself up. Cody mimicked her, trying to seem relaxed and in control. 

“I’m uh...I’m Peter Pan.”

“Oh sweet, dude! We’re gonna be great friends. We’re in almost every scene together.”

“Is this your first tour?” Cody asked, still self-conscious. 

“Nah, dude. I was in _ The Sound of Music _ last year. We only toured the midwest. I also did the British tour of _ The Importance of Being Earnest. _”

“_British _tour? Holy shit.”

“I mean Britain is smaller than Texas, the tour wasn’t super exciting and it only lasted four months.”

“An international tour is still really impressive. This is my first touring show and I’m kind of nervous.”

“It’s your first touring show and you got the lead?”

“I know, right?” Cody shook his head, equally as incredulous. Kelsey smiled up at him, blue eyes flashing with mischief.

“So what have _ you _been in, Mr. Title Role?” she dug her elbow into his side and he flinched away with a sharp laugh. 

“I was in _ Newsies _last year.”

“Which theatre?”

“Main Street.”

“Cody, that’s awesome! Who did you play? There’s like eighty dudes in that frickin’ thing.”

“I was Kid Blink,” he blushed. It had been a great musical experience and he’d been proud of his growth that resulted from the show. Ensembles always improved everyone’s individual dancing skills and he probably owed his role as Peter to the choreographers of _ Newsies. _

“That’s so cool. I love _ Newsies. _So many cute boys. So many cute girls.”

“Everyone’s cute.” 

“I agree.”

Their conversation was cut short by the director taking her place behind the podium in front of the stage. Today would be mostly business related; she referred to it as _ housekeeping _. They discussed understudy stunt practice schedules, took rigging measurements for the flying wires, and took body measurements for the costume department. They cleared the stage for fifteen minutes while Lisa, their stage manager, and the head of Audio Tech took stage measurements. The Audio guy, who introduced himself to the cast as Noel, was pretty cute. He had short, spiky black hair and lovely, warm hazel eyes. 

Cody snapped himself out of his slight daydream. This wasn’t the time to get crazy over boys. This could be his once chance at a big break and he wasn’t going to fuck it up. As the director talked to them, Cody scribbled notes all over the back of his script. The director went so far as to give them her personal number and the number of her assistant, just in case there was an emergency or accident. Cody was told to have his lines down in _ two weeks _rather than three, which pushed him into a mild panic. As they exited the stage, he turned to Kelsey. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this!”

“Breathe, Chodey,” Kelsey ordered, elbowing his side again. They gathered their jackets and bags from the theatre seats and pushed their way out of the side door. Kelsey was worried about her new buddy and co-worker. He’d been sweating lightly all day, clearly a nervous wreck, and his face was currently verging on green. If he wasn’t careful, Cody was going to stress himself into real sickness. “Listen, dude, let’s take a seat.”

“Okay.”

Cody allowed himself to be parked on the metal bench that ran alongside the set building warehouse. Kelsey took a seat next to him and held one of his hands in two of hers. She rubbed reassuring circles on his palm with her thumb as she asked, “What’s up, dude? What’s got you panicking like this?”

“I’m worried that I won’t get my lines down in time. I’m worried I’m going to fail and they’ll cast someone else and I’ll lose my only shot at this.”

“What time is it right now?”

The non-sequitur question knocked something loose and Cody glanced down at his watch. “It’s only three in the afternoon.”

“Let’s go get some lunch. After we eat, we can go back to my place and work on our lines. How does that sound? We have a lot of scenes together so we can get them down _ together _. That makes sense. Right, Cody?”

He breathed a huge sigh of relief and gave Kelsey a bear-hug. She hugged him back enthusiastically. “Thanks, dude. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

“No problem,” she smiled. She jumped up from the bench, planted her feet shoulder-width apart, and pointed in the general direction of town, “Off to Neverland!” 

Cody crowed loudly, finally getting into character. _ This was going to be fun. _


	2. Act 1: Scene 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor mentions of homophobia in relation to Noel's fictional parents, fair warning.

“Hey Cody, do you have a minute?” Elise asked, motioning for Cody to join her at the leftmost corner of the stage. He jogged over, unsure of the director’s reason for calling him. Sensing his apprehension the woman quickly explained, “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. Well, maybe you’d consider it trouble. Anyway, I have some good news and some bad news, depending on your perspective. You seem like one of those kids who might think both of these things should be considered good news.”

“What’s up, boss?” 

“Very Bugs Bunny of you.”

“My apologies, it was unintentional.” 

The director stifled a laugh when Cody blushed in embarrassment. No wonder they’d cast him as Peter! He was the poster child for innocent faces, yet he somehow maintained a major case of fuckboy hair. Elise continued, “The good news is that they have a harness in your size available immediately, so we can get started on practicing the wire work and choreographing your entrances and exits. The bad news is that you now have the opportunity for extra time in the air. We should get you on that as soon as possible so you look like a natural by the time the show rolls around. Mike and I were planning on getting you safety trained directly after rehearsal today. Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely, whatever will make the show best,” Cody nodded. He’d have to cancel his dinner plans with Kelsey but that wouldn’t be too awful. They’d had dinner every night together for the past three nights. Plus the director was right, he _ was _ one of the kids to consider extra time with the wires ‘good news’. He knew the harness was brutally uncomfortable, but for brief moments, suspended in the air like that, he really did feel like he was flying. He’d gotten to work with wires before in _ Dracula, _but he’d only been a rigging crewman, then. He’d only been up there to test the weight.

Cody’s energy was even higher for the rest of the rehearsal, all his giddiness for the wire work seeping into his performance. “Yes, Cody, _ just _ like that!” Elise shouted, gesturing at him with her script as if she was about to throw it. Cody wrapped up his monologue from Act 1: Scene 2 to scattered applause from a few crew members and the director herself. The tall, dark-haired woman was bouncing on the balls of her feet, clapping her hands together with joy. Nobody had ever seen the director react this way before. She stared her newfound star down from across the stage, making sure he understood her seriousness when she asked: “Cody I need you to bring me that level of emotion and energy _ every single time. _Can you do that?”

“I’ll do my absolute best!” 

“That’s all I can ask for. Alright, people. We’ll have the Lost Boys, Wendy, and the Tinkerbell tech back for the Wendybird scene after break. Cody, you have a meeting with the wire crew after your ten so meet them stage right. That’s a ten, everyone.”

“Thank you, ten!” the cast shouted back. The actors stood in clumps, stretching. Some wandered into the hallway to refill their water bottles or scan through the broken vending machine’s front panel, willing it back to life. Cody used the restroom and bumped into the hot Audio guy on the way out. 

“Sorry.”

“No prob.”

“Five remaining!” Elise called from somewhere backstage. 

“Thank you, five!” Cody called back. He let his mind wander to the cute Audio guy as he made his way back into the auditorium. He knew the man’s name was Noel, but that was all. He wondered what it was like to be a theatre technician full-time. As an actor, he really owed them everything. The play was just people talking in an empty room without any of the technical professionals or their hard work. He’d have to remember to thank Noel next time they saw each other. 

* * *

“Alright, Cody, this is going to pinch.”

“I came emotionally prepared for the pinching.”

“I see why they cast you in the lead,” the head wire rigger chuckled, showing Cody the proper way to cinch the harness in place. “Ideally there will be a rigger here every night to make sure you’re good to go, but on the off chance that there’s an emergency, you should know how to buckle in and out of this pretty quickly.” The man, who introduced himself as Mike an hour into his harness safety speech, had Cody practice getting in and out of the straps until he could do it in under ten seconds. They didn’t even get up in the air in the whole two hours they stayed after rehearsal.

Cody was bummed. He’d been ready to get working on his technique. He wanted to make this the best touring version of _ Peter Pan _ ever produced, and that meant beating out the 360-degree tent production that used a projected video as a set. Sloppy wire work wasn’t going to help him achieve his goal. Upset that he’d not only missed his dinner with Kelsey but also didn’t get to work in the air at all, Cody made a decision. Rather than fucking off home like he’d usually do, Cody asked if he could stay behind and run his blocking for Act I again. “Sure, Cody. Just make sure you leave before the night janitors switch shifts,” Elise nodded. At least the kid was dedicated.

* * *

Noel took his first sip of beer and sighed heavily, leaning back into the couch cushion like he hoped it would engulf him. “Alright, couch monster, now’s the time if you want to eat me.”

Nothing.

Dammit. 

His phone began to buzz and he glanced down at the caller ID. _ Dad. _ Nah, not tonight. Noel wasn’t in the mood for any of that shit after the nonsense he’d dealt with at the theatre all day. The can set for the light crew couldn’t connect to the theatre station and had to be manually adjusted from inside. It had taken him hours of fiddling with wires and antennas before everyone in the light department joined the ranks of working headphone users. He didn’t want to listen to his parents tired nagging and rudeness after spending the afternoon hunched over a detail-oriented job. He’d probably manage to kill one of them through the phone if he had to hear all their: “ _ When are we going to get some grandkids? Are you ever going to get a real job? How old are you now and you can’t get out of that shitty apartment? You’re telling us you want to live on a bus for the next eight months and do music for a children’s play!? That’s ludicrous! When are you going to make some adult friends and stop hanging out with that hippie? What are you, _ gay? _ ” _

“Fuck this!” Noel declared to the still-empty room. His chest felt tight and his throat constricted. In the very center of his solar plexus something went rigid, yanking him straight in his chair and forcing the air from his lungs. _ Oh bullshit, I don’t need to cry right now. _Choking down the sudden burst of emotion, Noel pulled on his sneakers and left his apartment. He needed to go for a walk and clear his head. Maybe he could swing around the theatre and take a look at those mic stands backstage. They’d been falling over a lot recently and while Noel suspected some of the less intelligent cast members, they could also be broken or bent somehow. It was something to focus his manic brain. 

He slipped in through the open side door of the scene shop and padded quietly through the warehouse. _ Someone must still be here. _That wasn’t unusual. Rather than look for company, he made his way around the back of the stage and into the left wing. Being as polite as he was, Noel moved silently through the shadows of the wings in case the cast was running a late rehearsal. The silence of the theatre suggested otherwise. 

The young man poked his head out of the black, soundproof curtains that separated the wings from the stage. These curtains had been added especially for Peter Pan, to keep the audience from seeing the fly-wire mechanisms and ruining the magic. It also made for a much quieter workspace when Noel had to fix mic bugs during the show. 

As he glanced around the theatre, he realized it really _ was _completely empty. The house lights were dimmed and the main lights were on their lowest setting, bathing the empty, black-painted stage in a soft white light. Noel didn’t see anyone moving around and didn’t hear anyone reciting lines so he figured it was safe to get to work. Maybe the lighting people were doing some adjustments in the overhead booth; or the riggers could be working on the wire safety tests he knew had to be finished by tomorrow. Noel understood that tech work took up all sorts of odd hours, so he didn’t question the lit stage or the empty room. 

It was so still and silent, however, that when a strange voice started singing out of nowhere it nearly sent Noel flying out of his skin. _Fuck! Who the hell is that? _Staying low and out of sight, he opened the slit in the black curtains only enough to peer out. Wandering around the middle of the stage was the guy who played Peter Pan. The slightly younger dude was singing something Noel didn’t recognize (which was an odd experience for an audiophile) and it sounded pretty good_._ The song was high and melodic, partially in a language Noel didn’t speak and he doubted even more that ‘Peter’ spoke. Noel decided that sneaking around this one time might not be so bad; plus it made for a good meet-cute, right? ‘Peter’ was pretty cute.

He took a comfortable seat on the floor and reclined back against the brick side wall of the stage, stretching his legs out in front of him. He opened the curtain enough to see out, watching and listening to the blonde man’s solo performance. 

_ “I’ll sell my rod, I’ll sell my reel, _

_ I’ll sell my only spinning wheel, _

_ To buy my love a sword of steel. _

_ I’ll dye my petticoats, I’ll dye them red, _

_ And round the world I’ll beg my bread, _

_ Until my parents shall wish me dead.” _

“Seems kinda sad, dude,” Noel said, stepping out onto the stage. The blonde man turned on his heel so quickly that he lost his balance, sliding directly onto his ass. Noel darted forward, hand outstretched. “Oh shit! Sorry!”

“I didn’t know anyone else was here! I’m so sorry, I can get going!”

“Dude, chill, it’s alright. I couldn’t sleep so I came here to do some minor repairs. What’s your excuse, Phantom of the Opera?” Noel asked. ‘Peter’ ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair, letting it fall softly back into place. It was annoyingly cute. “Is your ankle okay?”

“Yeah, my ankle is fine. Thanks. Uh...I was just practicing.”

“That song isn’t from the show.”

“No, the song was just me enjoying the acoustics of this place when it’s empty. What time is it, anyway?”

“Probably closing in on midnight. Don’t you have rehearsal tomorrow?”

“My call isn’t until ten. They’re doing the nursery scenes all morning.”

‘Peter’ was fidgeting, shifting his weight between his legs as he talked with Noel. The tech found himself oddly attracted to the blonde man’s soft, boyish looks. “Well I’m gonna head out. You should probably leave, too. I can lock up.”

“Oh, you’re tech management?” ‘Peter’ asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked with Noel out through the right wing. 

“Yeah, I’m the head of Audio for this tour.”

“That sounds really cool. Are you the one who designs all the sound scenery?”

“We call that ambiance, but yeah. That’s all me, baby,” Noel smirked. He did that quirk of his eyebrows that made girls swoon and was happy to note that it worked on ‘Peter’, whose face lit up pink. _ Oh shit, this could totally be workplace harassment. I gotta pull back. _“Sorry, that was super unprofessional.” 

“No worries, man, I get it.”

“Oh, cool.”

They reached the exit. Noel pulled the door open and ushered ‘Peter’ outside, following him with the key. He triple checked the locks to make sure the set shop was secure before heading down the street. The way the streetlights reflected off the top of the leading man’s blonde hair was completely unfair. When he smiled and it looked nearly angelic. ‘Peter’ picked the conversation back up. 

“I mean, dudes are cute. I’m just...not in the mood for a relationship right now. I want to get this role _ perfected. _I can think about falling in love when I have a reputation and some form of job security.”

“Perfect is a pretty high standard, Peter.”

“I guess. But if I can’t be perfect, I at least want to be _ very good.” _

“That sounds realistic. From what I’ve seen, you’re going to be amazing. That whole Come Away speech had me ready to jump through the set window myself; it’s not even constructed yet.”

“I can’t wait to see what they build. Our crew is so incredibly talented.”

‘Peter’ was gushing. It made Noel a thousand times more attracted to him; he appreciated behind-the-scenes work. By now they’d reached a corner and ‘Peter’ said he had to turn left. Noel shook his hand and said, “See ya at work, lost boy.”

He didn’t miss the blush that dusted the man’s cheeks once again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo? Opinions? Everyone having a good time? You know I live on that validation, babes.


	3. Act 1: Scene 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Thank you, five!" is a real thing, I promise.

“Alright, Cody, let’s learn how to spin around!”

Cody finished adjusting his harness and turned to face Mike with a wide smile. “Awesome!”

“I wish all my leads had this much positivity,” the flight director chuckled. He turned and waved to get the rigging technician’s attention, “Alright, let’s get him up and into Position Five!”

The flight wires for this production were automated, which made Cody feel infinitely better about the amount of time he got to spend in the air. People weren’t getting injured or throwing their backs out trying to move him, he was being yanked around by hydraulics and pulley systems. Everything was pre-programmed and operated by one of Mike’s crewmembers via a console backstage. The young bearded man who currently sat at the controller’s desk pushed some buttons and Cody rose into the air. He had an automatic wedgie and his weight seemed oddly distributed as he hung there, but it was an adjustment he’d started to understand. The harness’s flaws became significantly easier to deal with every time he went up and got to learn a new trick or a piece of new blocking. 

During Mike’s initial lessons he’d explained that the Peter Pan harnesses were designed primarily for women, since tradition dictated that only women played Peter Pan. The young actor worried that the superstitious theatre goers would be upset about his casting, but Mike reassured him plenty of men had played Peter Pan and that: “All the other traditions were being well followed.”

“Would you mind running the Scene 2 entrance again and giving me notes on my leg positions? I don’t want it to look uncomfortable and right now it feels kinda weird. I don’t think I’m getting my legs up high enough but I can’t tell from up here.”

Elise nodded and shouted the directions to the rigger, whose joystick moved Cody through the series of tracks hooked into the catwalk. The flight director got the blonde positioned on his mark behind the yet-to-be-constructed Darling nursery window. Elise was honestly impressed with Cody’s behavior so far. By three weeks into any production most people in the cast were flagging, exhausted from constant rehearsal and line memorization; but the young actor managed to keep his energy up through practice and even the grueling flight lessons. He knew which parts of the play made him uncomfortable and asked to run them until he felt more confident. He wasn’t afraid to ask for clarifications on notes or ask for assistance interpreting one of his lines. Working with him was more than pleasant and Elise felt at peace about at least one aspect of the hectic show. Why they had chosen something with a flight crew that needed to be transported, she had no clue, but for now she was enjoying the magical experience of directing _ Peter Pan. _

“Alright, go for Scene 2!” she announced, once the flight rigger had given his okay for Cody’s position. 

As the wires yanked him up, Cody leaned forward to zip through the fake windows of the Darling Nursery set. He landed in the middle of the room, feet planted shoulder width apart and hands on his hips, elbows out in front of the wires just like he’d been instructed. Elise saw immediately why he’d asked for notes and took a step forward, “I see what you were talking about. Your legs are just a little under-balanced. Can you lean forward any further without spinning around completely? If you can get your legs up like six inches more it looks like you’re planking in the air, which is closer to where we ideally want to be. We can work on making it look natural later.”

“Sounds good. Form now, art later,” Cody flipped his air comedically. Then he looked at Elise more seriously to ask, “Would you mind running it one more time to see if I can get closer to the goal?”

“Not at all. After we run this one last time we’re moving on to flips, though.”

“Absolutely, boss!”

When Cody leaned forward to fly through the window this time, he focused on clenching his abdomen, tipping himself more forward than he was generally comfortable with; but his legs were definitely up higher behind him. When he completed his pose on the stage, Elise gave him the thumbs up. 

“That was great, Cody! Now keep practicing that entrance until it feels smooth and you’re not worried.”

“How could you tell I was worried?” Cody asked.

“You looked anxious because you were tipping forward more than you’re used to,” Mike shrugged. “It’s very common at this point in rehearsal. Just keep doing this exercise during flight practice until you can do it with a smile and it feels like no effort at all.”

“Understood!”

Elise turned and gave Mike a high-five. “The star is all yours, buddy.”

Mike stepped forward and motioned for the rigger to lift Cody up again. He didn’t take any time in beginning his lesson, “Okay, so, in order to flip…”

The flight director’s lecture was full of technical jargon and physics, but Cody only knew how to manipulate his movement on the wires through practice. No amount of spoken math was going to teach him how to lean really far forward and bend his knees in towards his chest to keep the momentum going. He just had to try it until he rotated all the way around without getting his legs caught on the wires running between his hips and the ceiling. The flight director also taught him how to do something exceedingly romantic, which they promised to surprise Kelsey with during the next Darling nursery rehearsal.

After an hour or so of practice, Cody was sweating and exhausted. Mike motioned for the rigger to lower him to the ground. The tall, grey-haired man clapped Cody on the shoulder, “You’re almost a natural at this.”

Cody looked up through his sweaty bangs, breathing hard. “Almost?”

“Nobody is ever a natural at this,” Mike smiled. He turned to the director, who had swung by to check on their progress. “Alright, Elise, I think he should take a break. I don’t want to overwork him.”

“Sounds good. Can you dedicate an hour to working through Scene Three with the wires tomorrow, full cast?” she asked. Mike shot Cody a wink and nodded. Elise quirked an eyebrow. “What was that all about?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” Mike chuckled. 

Cody slipped the harness off quickly and folded it up like he’d been taught, tucking it away in the green duffel bag labeled _ Cody Rigging _ . He had been wearing it over a pair of joggers or basketball shorts for practice, but it would be between a layer of athletic spandex and his costume for the show. He dreaded the day when there was even _ less _padding between his junk and the sharp edges of the harness straps. In an attempt to lower his own suffering Cody asked, “Would going to a gym help my wirework at all?”

“Actually, yeah,” Mike nodded. He ran a hand through his short beard and squinted at Cody. “If you’re going to work out with the intention of getting better in the air you should definitely focus on core stamina and leg strength. Those are the things that control your body the most while you’re hanging up there. The core keeps you balanced and your legs make the flying look less artificial.”

Cody was scribbling it all down on the back of his script, making sure to keep all of Mike’s advice handy. “Thank you!”

“No problem, kid. Don’t push yourself too hard, though. You really don’t want to get sick. My advice for you is one day a week at the gym, three hours max. You’re already building muscle from practice alone, going to the gym four times a week on top of rehearsals is just going to kill you. Nobody wants to see the lead burn out before opening night.”

Elise nodded sagely, “Mike is right.”

“Thanks, guys,” Cody nodded. “I promise I’ll be careful. I don’t want to mess this up for anyone, myself included.”

* * *

“Alright, everyone, we’re running Scene Three, with full wire tech, from the top!” Elise announced over the PA system. Cody was already hooked up to the wires by the time Kelsey, Tim (who played John), and Calvin (who played Michael) were all set up in their own rigs. He had been sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, running over his lines. Once they were harnessed correctly, Wendy, John, and Michael all got into their ‘beds’, which were currently just unpainted wooden bed-frames with blankets thrown over them. At the end of the previous scene, Mr. and Mrs. Darling had tucked the children into bed and briefly discussed the danger that Peter’s shadow could pose. Mr. Darling blew it off, as usual, and the two of them left for their party. Elise gave the command and the scene started. 

The highly focused spotlight that represented Tinkerbell zoomed across the stage until it hit the first set of practical effects, causing several books to fall off the children's shelf. As the light moved behind each individual night-light, a small jingle and huff could be heard before the light went out. _ Noel did really well on Tink’s sound effects, _Cody noted. A few moments later was his entrance cue. He shot through the window, balanced the way he’d been practicing, and landed in his usually cocky stance. He cupped his hands around his mouth and stage-whispered, “Tinkerbell?”

The light twinkled near the chest of drawers and Cody crossed to it, pulling it open. He mimed the removal of his shadow and quietly acted out Peter’s several attempts to reattach it without success. When it didn’t work, he sat down on the floor, pulled his knees into his chest, hid his face in his crossed arms and pretended to cry. Kelsey rose from her bed and leaned over the edge, asking the most important question in the play: “Boy, why are you crying?”

Cody sat up with a start and pretending to wipe tears away as he stated defiantly, “I’m not crying.” He stood up and bowed at the waist, looking as serious as possible. Kelsey hopped out of her wooden bed and curtsied, pulling out the sides of her t-shirt in lieu of a skirt. “What’s your name?”

“Wendy Moira Angel Darling. What is yours?”

“Peter Pan.”

“Is that all?” Kelsey giggled. Cody turned away from her and crossed his arms over his chest. The dark-haired girl walked around Cody’s side and put her hand gently on his upper arm. He jerked it back as his blocking instructed. Kelsey pouted, but proceeded to ask, “Where do you live?”

* * *

Noel watched the scene continue from the sound booth, running the third (and hopefully final) mock-up of the sound design for this scene. Tinkerbell had been a huge challenge, but eventually they settled on a mixture of bike bell and doorbell. It was a high, singular chime that could be remixed into several pitches to indicate mood. Noel had enjoyed the work but it had given him some very late nights. 

“Oh the cleverness of me!” Peter declared from the stage. He let out a loud crow and spiraled up briefly into the air. He flipped forward once and landed in that _ stupid _ hands-on-hips pose that dripped confidence and arrogance and... _ damn, Cody was cute. _Noel did his best not to imagine the blonde in his Peter Pan costume. Oh God, he was going to die.

Wendy jumped into bed and pulled the blanket over her head, pissed off at Peter for not appreciating the fact she’d sewed his shadow back on. They hadn’t practiced this scene with the wires before, so usually Peter just sat on the edge of the bed for these next lines, but now they had more to work with. Peter did something that sent butterflies rushing into Noel’s stomach. He lifted into the air above the bed and thrust his torso forward, leaning down until he could hook his ankles against the wires behind him, locking him in place. He was almost completely upside down, chest at a slight upward angle to keep his face to the audience, floating above Wendy's bed. “Wendy,” he implored softly, his voice dripping in honeyed tones, “Wendy, one girl is worth more than twenty boys.”

“Do you really think so Peter?” Wendy asked, popping out from beneath the covers. She wasn’t expecting Peter to be so close and when they locked gazes, she froze. Her blue eyes were incredibly wide as they stared into Peter’s, the tips of their noses just barely brushing. Peter was smiling widely, hair flopping slightly into his eyes; it was incredibly charming. Noel’s pulse was hammering and it was taking a lot of focus to get his cues right. 

“I do.”

“Then I shall get up again!”

Cody lowered himself to the floor. This next part always made him and Kelsey giggle. The first time they’d gotten dinner together after practicing this scene she’d kept handing him pieces of sushi and asking, “Is this a kiss?”

“Shall I give you a kiss?” she asked. Cody did his best to look confused, but he was laughing on the inside. The romantic and pseudo-sexual tension between Peter and Wendy was great onstage, but Cody and Kelsey were anything but romantic in the wings. They’d found kindred spirits in each other and enjoyed being together. But not like _ that. _Kelsey leaned forward, “Do you know what a kiss is?”

Cody held up his hand, palm out, “I shall know when you give me one.”

The famous acorn and thimble scene was one of Cody’s favorites, and he acted his heart out.

It was having an effect on his audience, as well. Noel thought he was going to hyperventilate in the sound booth until he heard Elise call, “Pause! Thanks guys! Let’s do notes and head home. It’s getting late.”

Cody slipped so gracefully out of his flight harness that it gave Noel goosebumps. “Tech, too, please!”

Noel sidestepped out of the sound booth and headed for the edge of the stage with everyone else, notebook in hand for any sound fixes he’d have to do tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where my peeps? I miss ya'll. Leave me some brief words. I appreciate every single one! Are you liking it? I gotta know!


	4. Costume Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I am very much That Bitch who wants to make friends, so if you wanna hit me up and talk about the story, just talk about TMG, or be a chill person in general, hit up my side-blog: the104yearoldvirgin (yes it is a Twilight blog and I have no shame). 
> 
> Also that Couple's Cringe was GOOD SHIT. I require more Kelsey in my life.

“First of all, Peter and Wendy, where did that _ chemistry _come from?” Elise asked, eyes flicking between the two young actors. Noel noted Cody’s slight flush at Elise’s compliment, but the director was too excited to pay any close attention, “Whatever that trick was with hooking your ankles against the wires, let’s do that every time! You honestly couldn’t see that you were using your legs as an anchor from the audience; it was magical. Love it.”

Noel’s gaze was locked on Cody. The petite blonde man had situated himself next to the dark haired girl who played Wendy (Katie, maybe?) and they were touching shoulders. In fact, the whole left side of Cody’s body was up against the girl’s right side. Noel realized he’d narrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms, so he took a moment to relax his pose and look around the room. _ Cool, nobody noticed me being an asshole. Am I seriously jealous of this chick? _He didn’t have any more time to think; the director addressed him next.

“Noel, I really liked the final Tinkerbell effect. I’m keeping all of your mock-up for this scene, so please get those effects downloaded and labeled on the sound board. Keep up the good work!”

Noel shot her a quick thumbs-up, “Thanks, Elise.”

“Tomorrow we’re going to start with Scene Four, do you have a soundscape for that yet?”

“That’s the flying entrance to Neverland and the first Pirate scene, correct?” Noel checked his script. Elise nodded. “Then we sure do, Captain.”

“Excellent. I’ll see everyone here at nine for rehearsal. I’ll email people their specific notes so you don’t have to stay any longer tonight to listen to me blathering on. Also, Cody and Kelsey, you two have a wire lesson tomorrow after rehearsal so I’m going to buy you dinner. Decide what you want and one of you text me your orders before midnight tonight, please. That’s a wrap for the day!”

* * *

Noel was confused as hell when he walked into his favorite gym on Saturday morning and saw Cody on one of the treadmills. _ He is definitely new here. I would have noticed someone like him before and I absolutely would have hit on him like some kind of asshole. _

Cody noticed him and immediately waved Noel over with that stupidly adorable golden retriever grin. “Hey Noel! Is this your regular gym?”

“Yeah, man.”

“It’s pretty awesome,” Cody said, glancing around. “They have nice equipment.”

“They also have some pretty fun classes,” Noel nodded.

“I’m not allowed to take any of those,” Cody pouted. It was too cute how his bottom lip poked out just a bit. How his sweaty blonde hair was sticking slightly to to sides of his face despite the headband he’d worn to keep his bangs out of his eyes. Noel hated himself for feeling this way about his co-worker, especially since the blonde had expressed disinterest.

“Not allowed?”

“Elise and Mike said I’m only allowed to work out for three hours on Saturdays. Otherwise I’ll be too sore and tired to do the wirework. This is just to build strength for flying_ .” _

“Fair enough,” Noel nodded, stepping onto the treadmill beside Cody’s. “How much longer do you have? I’m gonna warm up here, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, I still have another fifteen minutes to go anyway.”

“Perfect.”

“Do you want to talk or just jog?”

“I don’t mind chatting. I do light jogs for warm ups anyway.”

“Me too. I can’t stand running.”

“I’m not a runner much myself. I’m more into weights. Once and awhile I’ll have a motivated streak and sign up for boxing classes,” Noel said. “They’re actually pretty decently priced, here.”

“You have to pay for a membership _ and _for classes?” Cody asked. “That seems like it would get expensive.”

“Nah, the classes are mostly free. I just pay for equipment rentals.”

“Oh, I could understand that. Do you ever consider just buying your own set of gloves?”

“Once and awhile I find myself scrolling online,” Noel shrugged. Cody smiled. 

“I used to want to riverdance.”

“Bro, what the fuck?” 

The question was accompanied by one of Noel’s sharp laughs. Cody couldn’t help it, his own wide grin transformed into a giggle and then a laugh. They were chuckling and jogging in silence for awhile, both of them picturing Cody attempting to riverdance. “I’m just picturing you with one of those huge, curly-ass wigs those chicks wear.”

“Oh god, I cannot imagine how hot those must be.”

“And heavy! It’s a wonder their necks don’t just collapse while they’re jumping around in those things.”

“It’s painful to be beautiful.”

“The harness is pretty painful though, isn’t it?” Noel asked, cocking an eyebrow. Cody nodded, completely missing Noel’s insinuation that he was beautiful, which the brunette was fine with. _ I really gotta stop accidentally and intentionally hitting on this guy. Not cool. _

“Yeah, but I love being up there.”

“You make a good Peter Pan, dude.”

“Thanks. That means a lot. Especially from someone who’s seen me perform on my worst days.”

“You’ve had a _ worst _ day?” Noel teased. “Elise is constantly singing your praises to everyone. All the time. It’s so annoying.”

“She does that?” Cody asked, face going a lovely shade of non-workout related pink. Noel’s voice took on a high, awkward falsetto as he mimicked the director. 

“Cody just _ can’t _ have this much energy, I swear. Every other leading man I’ve worked with has been whining and exhausted by week three and they weren’t even doing wirework this often. Where does he get it? I don’t understand. This show is going to blow _ The King and I _out of the water this year.”

“Shut upppp,” Cody groaned, turning up his treadmill as if he could outrun the embarrassing amount of pride he felt from Elise’s kind words. Noel’s laugh chased him for the last two minutes of their shared run. They wiped down the machines in silence before the blonde finally asked, “Where are you off to next?”

“Arms.”

“Well I’m heading for legs. See you around?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Noel grabbed his water bottle and headed for the dumbbells, knowing exactly what his routine for the day was supposed to be. He’d been following some online program and it had been working incredibly well. He felt sturdier than before, definitely able to give some cute twink a piggy-back ride at the beach (the ultimate goal, of course). 

* * *

Cody tried not to watch Noel lift from the privacy of his own machine, but it was incredibly difficult. The way the muscles in his tan shoulders flexed was _ ungodly. _He had to look away and admire a handful of chatty yoga students in the far corner for a minute so his goddamn gym shorts wouldn’t tent from the way Noel’s body looked in that black tank top. He felt prepubescent again around his new friend; it was hell. When he finally felt calm enough to continue his ogling, Noel had disappeared. Rather than looking around, Cody finished up his reps and wiped down the machine like a polite gym-goer. He was starting to tire out after just an hour and a half of his three allotted hours.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad to go home and take a nap. Maybe run his lines again. He deserved a bit of a break after the insane week he’d had and he could always come back for another hour tomorrow if he wanted. He _ had _ rehearsed every single day, and Cody had stayed after on three of those days for additional time working in the air. A familiar voice directly behind him startled Cody out of his thoughts. He turned to see a dark haired girl addressing her two friends, “Oh God, my knees feel like jelly.”

“Kels?”

“Oh my gosh, Cody?” Kelsey beamed, turning to face him and give him a quick hug. “Sorry, I’m totally sweaty. I didn’t know you went to this gym!”

“It’s my first time. I just came to work on my aerial muscles,” Cody shrugged. 

“I just finished up my favorite hot yoga class,” she said, bouncing up on the balls of her feet excitedly. “You should come next week. It’s a total blast!”

* * *

Noel heard the Wendy girl inviting Cody to her hot yoga class and he perked up. _ Cody doing hot yoga? I gotta get in on this. _He stepped up to the group and politely asked, “Would you mind if I butted in, too? I’ve been meaning to try that out.”

“Oh, hey! You’re Noel, right? The head of Audio?” Wendy asked. Her smile was just as infectious as Cody’s, dammit. 

“Yeah!”

“Please feel free to join us,” she winked. “This class has so many hotties in it.”

“You’re talking about that redhead, aren’t you, Kelsey?” Cody teased. The girl, Kelsey he now knew, turned red and slapped his arm. 

“Dude, she could still be in here!” 

“Just tell her you think she’s cute, you dumb bitch.”

Noel felt both relieved and incredibly guilty. Relieved that Kelsey was into someone other than Cody and guilty that he’d felt any right to be jealous over Cody at all. It wasn’t like he’d said anything about his little crush. And it was just that, a crush. Nothing major.

“Noel you look like you’re trying to solve particle physics without a calculator,” Cody interrupted his thoughts, waving a hand in front of Noel’s eyes. 

“Oh shit, sorry, man.”

“Lost in thought?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m definitely going to your hot yoga class next week, Kels.”

“Me, too,” Noel nodded.

“Alright! Be here by ten in the morning or you’ll be missing out!”

Noel cemented that time in his brain. He connected it to the mental image of hot yoga Cody and knew he’d never forget. That was just too tempting. He’d have to make sure to wear his tightest compression shorts in case of any _ activity _ during their yoga lesson. _ Why am I doing this to myself? God, I am absolutely going to hell for being all over my coworker. _

“Dude,” Kelsey said, stepping up to Noel as he stood in front of his locker. He jumped slightly, putting a hand over his chest. She held her hands up in front of her as a gesture of apology: “Sorry for scaring you.”

“It’s alright. What’s up, Kelsey?”

“You like Cody.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Why don’t you ask him out or something? We’re all consenting adults.”

“I’ve talked to him a little bit and it doesn’t sound like he’s all that interested in being romanced right now.”

“When did he say that?”

“Last week. I bumped into him after rehearsal and we ended up chatting for a bit.”

“Oh yeah, your late night rendezvous,” Kelsey nodded. “Cody told me about that.”

“Does he tell you everything?”

“Well yeah, I’m his best friend.”

“Please don’t tell him that I caught feelings. I’m trying to respect his decisions and keep them to myself. Plus if anything went wrong, we’d be stuck on a year long tour together where we’d have to regularly interact. I don’t want to ruin his first tour experience with my bullshit.”

“That’s very honorable, actually. I’ll totally keep your little Cody crush to myself.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Just...don’t be an asshole, okay? Cody’s really sweet and he deserves someone who’s going to keep that goodness going, you know?”

“I promise, I won’t do anything to hurt or upset our beloved Peter Pan. I just want to be his friend.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you, too.”

* * *

Sunday was long and slow and boring. Noel finally gathered enough energy to clean up his apartment but he really just wanted to be at rehearsal. He returned his empty beer and pop cans for chump change, swept the kitchen, did the dishes, and ran his laundry. He didn’t want to smell weird in the cramped space of the sound booth. Everyone would notice. Theatre jobs were the best but they also required adult behavior.

While he cleaned, Noel listened to the song Cody had been singing in the theatre that night when they'd bumped into each other. Apparently it was a decently popular Irish ballad. Tons of high school choir soloists had their videos of “Siuil a Run” plastered across YouTube, but he preferred the version by Celtic Woman. It was almost as haunting as Cody's performance in the empty, echoing auditorium of the rehearsal space. He didn't understand all the lyrics, but he didn't have to. The sound was so yearning that it nearly punched Noel in the face with his own emotional response. 

As he laid in bed that night and tried to sleep, all he could picture was Cody’s stupid face at the forefront of his mind. Laughing, smiling, working out, flying across the theatre on the wires...the blonde was really starting to get to him. Noel had to squish these feelings fast if he wanted to be a good friend. He rolled over and stared at Ollie, who was curled up on top of the blankets next to him. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do about this guy. I'm toast, dude.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feed me the validation, please. 
> 
> All my love to the Short Kings and their Real Boos.


	5. Entrances and Exits

When Kelsey arrived at the theatre, Cody was already in his flight rig. The speed and dexterity with which he could slip in and out of that stupid mess of straps constantly frustrated her; Kelsey was awful at dealing with the harness. Her best friend caught sight of her as she was setting down her backpack and raincoat. He waved enthusiastically from the stage, “Good morning, Kels!”

“Morning, Codes,” she called back. Kelsey headed onto the stage to meet stretch and get into her own harness. Just as the two actors were weight testing their wires, Elise entered through the vestibule door. She was carrying a cup of coffee and rubbing her left temple. Kelsey gave the director a concerned look, “You okay, Elise?”

“Yes, thank you, Kelsey. Just a mild headache. I took some ibuprofen and I got a coffee, so it should disappear soon,” the older woman shrugged. She grabbed her clipboard and made her way over to the two actors, who were hooked up and ready to go. “Thanks for coming to rehearsal early.

“What did you want to work on? You didn’t put it in your email.”

“There’s a move I’d like you guys to try to learn. If you can't, it's no big deal, but I thought of it the other day and it might be a cool transition between Neverland’s introduction and the pirate ship. Have either of you seen Mike yet this morning?”

“Mornin’ stranger!” Mike called from just offstage.

“And there he is!”

“Let’s get these two crazy kids up in the air for real, shall we?” Mike chuckled, pressing a series of buttons on the control panel. Cody and Kelsey ascended, and Cody realized he felt completely at ease. While the straps pinched in their usual places, the imbalance of his own weight suddenly felt more controllable. 

“Alright, Cody, can you take both of Kelsey’s hands in yours?”

Cody and Kelsey followed Elise’s instructions, taking hands and learning how to push and pull each other along the wire tracks. “Alright, perfect. Now when we do the entrance to Neverland, I want Cody to grab Kelsey’s hands like this and spin onto the stage, okay? So it kind of looks like Peter is throwing Wendy gently towards the pirate ship. He’s definitely showing off in this scene, so get fancy with your wire work, alright?”

“Can do, boss,” Cody nodded. The wire mechanisms activated, pulling both actors just off the stage. 

“Noel! You in the booth?” Elise asked over her headset.

_ “I live here now,” _ was the response.

“Can you run the sound for this scene?”

“This mock-up hasn’t been completely approved but I can run what we’ve got,” Noel answered.

“Perfect. Cue music!’

A lilting flute played against rhythmic drums; Elise had been highly impressed with Noel’s ability to mix his own music for the show. When the music picked up, Cody grabbed Kelsey by the hands and leaned forward, spinning her as he pushed her further onto the stage. It had the  _ perfect  _ effect, and Kelsey went gliding over what would be the pirate ship (in the near future). Elise clapped excitedly and both of the actors knew they’d hit the mark. “Perfect!”

“I think we can replicate that!” Kelsey affirmed, looking to Cody for his opinion.

“Oh totally,” he agreed. 

Elise had them run the entrance a few more times, making adjustments until they had the angles down perfectly. Noel watched from the booth, utterly enchanted as Cody flitted through the air like some sort of ridiculously cute bird. He played the next sound effect on cue, that of distant piratical singing. Cody did a quick flip and tossed his hair back out of his eyes,  _ his beautiful, sparkling brown eyes.  _ Noel shook his head to clear it, “That’s some bullshit.”

_ “What was that?” _ Elise asked over the headset.

“Sorry Elise, someone accidentally wrote over one of my cues. I’ll fix it,” Noel lied smoothly. “Didn’t mean to cuss.”

_ “No worries.”  _

He turned off the booth mic but kept the headset on, listening to and acknowledging Elise only when necessary. Otherwise he was watching Cody. The practice was really paying off; it looked  _ easy _ as he leaned forward and extended his hand to Kelsey, legs balanced perfectly behind him. He tilted forward to do the romantic move again, this time ‘lifting’ Kelsey from the floor with one hand and straightening himself out as she rose to meet him. Noel felt that pang of misplaced jealousy again. He sighed in the booth and ran a hand over his face. He needed a beer. 

* * *

“Dude, you sound totally fucked,” Spock laughed, taking a swig of his drink. 

“You’re telling me,” Noel rolled his eyes.

“All of this over one little blonde twink?”

“He is  _ not  _ a fucking twink, dude. He’s too thick to be a twink,” Noel corrected. Now it was Spock’s turn to roll his eyes. 

“Whatever dude. Just because this twink has cake, it doesn’t totally disqualify him from falling under the other parameters.”

“I don’t even know if the adorable dumbass is gay.”

“He could be bisexual, Noel, not everyone is just straight up  _ gay.  _ I thought you were bi?”

“I don’t know what I am,” Noel sighed, leaning his head back against the couch. Spock took another drink.

“It doesn’t really matter what you identify as. What matters is that you have the world’s most ridiculous boner over this guy.”

“Cody.”

“Over  _ Cody. _ ”

“He said he isn’t interested in a relationship,” Noel explained. “So it doesn’t really matter either way.”

“Then why aren’t you just moving on? Maybe go on a random date with someone else. Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

“I’m not just gonna go romance some random person to avoid my very apparent feelings for Cody.”

“Don’t forget you two are coworkers.”

“Oh I haven’t forgotten that at all. That’s been at the forefront of this whole mess; I don’t want to fuck things up this early on in the show and get stuck bunking with him in like...Kansas City or something after some messy breakup.”

“So why not just befriend him?”

“God I am  _ such  _ a fucking dumbass.”

“Yeah, dude, we’re all well-aware that you’re a fucking dumbass. You’re the world’s most hilarious train wreck. What does that have to do with befriending your twink?”

“I really should have come to that conclusion sooner.”

“We live and we learn.”

“You wanna smoke a bowl and watch a movie?”

“You wanna roast the shit out of Avatar: The Last Airbender after we’re done tokin’ up?”

“Hold up, homie. The show or the movie?” Noel asked, shooting Spock a look. Spock was packing the bowl of his tiny travel bong. 

“You can’t roast the show, it was too good.”   
“You fuckin’ know it.”

* * *

“Hey Noel! Glad you could make it!” Elise called, waving from a large table in the corner of the bar. Cody, Kelsey, Elise, Mike, Lisa, and a few other members of the cast and crew sat scattered around tables nearby. Noel took the seat Lisa had saved for him and ordered a draft beer from the tired looking waitress. When Lisa raised her eyebrows at him and glanced towards the door he caught her drift.

“I’m Ubering,” he explained.

“Right on,” Lisa nodded, holding up a peace sign. 

“Noel, you’re in the sound booth all day, right?” Kelsey asked, tapping him on the arm to get his attention. He excused himself from Lisa and turned to face the two leads. 

“Yeah. Why?”

“How does the entrance look for Scene Four?” she asked. 

“Pretty smooth.”

“You really think so?” Cody beamed. 

“Yeah, dude. It looks hella smooth,” Noel said. He took a large gulp of beer. “The lift from the floor made me tear up a little.”

“Awwww,” Kelsey teased, pinching Noel on the cheek slightly. “We’ve moved him to tears.”

“I’m getting it out of my system now so I don’t bawl myself to death on opening night and miss all your sound cues.”

“You wouldn’t,” Kelsey gasped, slapping a dramatic hand over her heart. She feigned a faint into Cody’s arms and he fanned her face.

“Look what you’ve done, you monster.”

“You two are fuckin’ weird,” Noel chuckled, taking another sip of beer. 

“You want anything to eat?” Lisa asked the group.

“Nah I’m good, thanks,” Noel shook his head.

“Mozzarella sticks!” Kelsey requested. 

“What are you, like, four?” Cody laughed. Kelsey pinched his side and made him jump, his curtain of blonde hair flopping into his face. Noel’s heart skidded to a stop in his chest cavity and did a quick double take. He took another drink. 

“Slow down kid, you just got here,” Lisa chuckled, knocking her shoulder against the young tech manager’s. 

“Sorry, I haven’t been out like this in awhile.”

“Well my bad. Waitress! One more round please, for the two of us. And an order of mozzarella sticks for that one!” Lisa pointed to Kelsey, who waved. The young woman who’d been serving them just nodded and wandered off. “This is going to turn into a zombie standoff.”

“She’s probably just tired. Most waitresses around here are also trying to book modeling or acting jobs.”

“Right. Kids these days, trying to get famous instead of building the sets the old fashioned way.”

“I tried that,” Cody piped up, “Turns out I’m awful at it.”

“You’ve got the hair for acting, kid, you’ll be fine,” Lisa winked. Cody’s lopsided grin was his only response. He turned back to Kelsey to continue their previous conversation. 

Noel stared down into his mostly-empty glass of beer. This was a good time. Lisa was joking with him, Elise was borderline tipsy and ranting about this one kid she’d had to work with for a production of  _ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat  _ who’d been a real asshat. Cody and Kelsey were whispering conspiratorially over a basket of fried cheese. At another table, Mike and one of the set design guys were chatting with the man who played Mr. Darling/Captain Hook. Watching everyone mingle made Noel feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside.

“Whatcha thinking about, Aristotle?” Lisa asked, nudging him again.

“I just like watching everyone hang out,” Noel shrugged. “It makes me feel like I’m home again.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Elise chimed in. “Theatre  _ is  _ home.”

“Cheers to that!” Kelsey added, lifting her shot in the air and urging Cody to lift his drink as well. Her tiny glass was full of some hot pink liquor, which frightened Noel to no end. White girls were terrifying at the bar and going out partying with them was never cheap.  _ Sorry baby, but that shit’s kinda pricey,  _ Noel winced, happy he wasn’t her date. Elise stood and motioned for silence.

“To this year’s traveling production of  _ Peter Pan!  _ May the theatre always feel like home!” Elise announced. Everyone drank. Kelsey threw back her shot with alarming ferocity. Cody stood, looking extremely nervous, and the director’s gaze made its way over to him. “Would you like to make a toast, Cody? You  _ are  _ the lead, after all.”

“Yeah, uh…” Cody coughed slightly and smiled, face pink and full of apprehension. He lifted his glass, “May the window always be open!”

“Hell yeah!” Elise agreed, taking another enthusiastic sip of her own drink. Noel clinked glasses with Kelsey, Cody, and Lisa before taking the last sip of his nearly lukewarm beer. 

“I might head out soon,” he said.

“You’ve only been here for like an hour. You haven’t even had two drinks,” Lisa rolled her eyes.

“I’ve got a little dog at home and I don’t like staying out late. Tomorrow is our last day of rehearsal and we all have an early morning on Saturday.”

“Oh yeah!” Kelsey beamed. “Hot yoga!”

“Hot yoga?” Elise questioned.

“Yeah. Noel, Cody, Alicia, and I are going to be doing hot yoga on Saturday morning.”

“Don’t worry, it’s within my three hour weekly gym limit,” Cody promised. Kelsey got up and excused herself to the bathroom. Elise gave Cody a chastising look. 

“Alright, just don’t pull any muscles. We’ve only got three more weeks until tech and dress.”

“Only three weeks?” Cody’s eyes went wide. Noel knew that look. He’d had that look before. That was a Big Panic look. He scooted closer and set a gentle hand on Cody’s shoulder; physical touch could be grounding. 

“You’re doing fine, dude. It’s mostly just refining the set and getting the costumes finished up, anyway.”

“I need some air.”

“Let’s get you outside,” Noel helped Cody stand up. He turned to Lisa, “When Kelsey gets back, let her know we went out front, would you?”

“No problem, kid.”

Noel could feel Cody’s shoulders shaking as he led him gently out the front door of the bar and into the warm evening air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter! Let me know what you think! 
> 
> I also hope to post a one-shot some time in the next week so keep your eyes peeled if you like my stuff. 
> 
> Much love to my Short Kings and happy belated birthday to Cody!


	6. Take Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who Kelsey's fake crush is on based on her description? Tee hee.
> 
> Much love to my Short Kings and their real life babes. These characters are caricatures and should not be taken seriously. They do not represent Cody or Noel's real feelings, sexualities, or jobs (duh).

“Cody, dude, look at me,” Noel said, holding Cody gently by the shoulders and forcing him to make eye contact. The blonde was shaking slightly, either with nerves or from being outside in a t-shirt; Noel couldn’t tell. He rubbed his hands up and down Cody’s upper arms, both for calm and warmth. It seemed to work and Cody calmed down after a few long moments.

“I’m okay, really.”

“So why are you crying?”

Cody wiped a stray tear from his cheek and sighed, leaning back against the brick wall of the bar. “I’m honestly kinda scared.”

“Of what?”

“Not getting my blocking down in time, not impressing the audience, getting caught in the wires opening night, the theatre burning down and destroying everything, getting a bad review that ruins the show, I could keep going if you want,” Cody laughed, sounding mildly hysterical. Noel ran a hand through his short, dark hair and chuckled. Cody crossed his arms over his chest defensively, “What’s so funny, dude?”

“Man, you gotta calm the fuck down,” Noel said. He leaned back next to Cody and turned his head to make eye contact with his coworker, “I know it seems like a lot right now, but I promise that it all comes together during tech week. I mean, what made you audition in the first place?”

“I love the rush of performing. I love the camaraderie of being part of a cast or crew. Peter Pan is the most amazing role because it means I get to do wire work and learn new skills that could come in handy later. I’m in great shape from all the core muscles required to move myself around in the air. I like learning about all the new people on set; I know almost all the technical crew by name now! I don’t know man, I guess theatre makes me feel like I can do anything.”

Noel let the silence hang in the air for a moment. Letting Cody have a second to reflect on all the positive parts of his job would help him calm down; this was something he’d learned from experience. Finally Noel broke the silence to ask: “So what is there to be scared about?”

“I guess you’re right,” the blonde’s lopsided grin reappeared. By the time Kelsey joined them in front of the bar, Noel had already talked Cody into going back inside to rejoin everyone. The nervous actor hurriedly wiped his hands over his face and readjusted his hair. “Can you tell I cried like a little bitch?”

“Nah fam, you’re good,” Noel reassured him. 

“You were crying?” Kelsey asked, wrapping a supportive arm around Cody’s shoulders. “You alright Codes?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” He sent a shy smile in the Audio tech’s direction. “Turns out Noel is really good at motivational speeches.”

“Good to know. Thanks, by the way,” she nodded to Noel.

“No problem at all. Been there, done that, panic attacks totally suck,” Noel shrugged. The three of them headed back into the bar, where Lisa and Elise were waiting with concerned expressions. “No worries, guys, just a mild existential crisis regarding tech week.”

“I totally understand. Anyone’s first tech week as a lead can be frightening to imagine, but it’s mostly for the crew to get their cues down correctly,” Elise reassured Cody. She slid another beer across the table to Noel. “Drink up, nerd.”

“Can’t argue with the director,” he laughed. 

The rest of the evening went relatively smoothly. The small group left the bar in a good mood. Kelsey and Cody took off in an Uber while Lisa was the designated driver for Elise and Mike, who apparently lived in the same neighborhood. Noel ordered his own ride and waved from the curb as his new friends took off one after another. Found family really was the best kind, in his personal opinion.

* * *

Noel showed up to the gym the next morning at precisely 9:30am. He hadn’t quite known how to prepare for hot yoga, so he brought his usual towel and water-bottle and rented a yoga mat from the studio for five bucks. Kelsey showed up a few minutes later and greeted him with a large hug, which he hadn’t quite been expecting. “Any sign of Cody?” she asked.

“Not yet. Or at least I haven’t seen him,” Noel answered. 

“Still got the hots for him?”

“I’m really trying not to, I swear to god.”

“Don’t worry too much, dude. As long as you don’t try to make out with him in the changing rooms I think it’ll be okay.”

“I mean, respecting Cody’s wishes is the easy part. I can just _ not _flirt with him. I just want the feelings to fade so I don’t have this dumbass unrequited crush on Peter fucking Pan,” Noel explained. Kelsey nodded, her eyebrows knitted together in thought. She opened her mouth once, but paused and closed it again. 

It looked like she wanted to tell him something but instead she just looked into his eyes and said, “I totally get it.”

“I appreciate your trust in me. I really don’t want to mess anything up.”

“It’s yoga! It can’t be that hard!” Cody said, catching only the tail end of Noel’s previous sentence. “I’m sure we’ll all be fine.”

“Fine, but very sweaty,” Kelsey corrected. 

“Yes, and that.”

“We’re gonna be so gross when this is all done. Does this gym have showers available or do you have to rent one?” Noel asked. 

“I think the showers are open to everyone with a membership. Nobody stopped me from taking one last week,” Cody answered. Noel blocked the image of Cody showering from even entering his mind and Kelsey winked at his semi-pained expression. Saving him once again, the actress piped up.

“Fair warning, this instructor really likes K-Pop.”

“This is yoga, why would we listen to K-Pop?” Noel asked incredulously. Kelsey didn’t answer, instead she laughed and turned to enter the studio. Noel assumed that the woman standing at the front of the room fiddling with the radio was the teacher. She was petite, with long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail and neon orange sneakers that made Noel’s eyes hurt. Kelsey bounced up to her and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

“Hey Christine, these are my friends. I hope you don’t mind them dropping in,” Kelsey said, introducing Cody and Noel. Christine clapped excitedly.

“I actually had a handful of dropouts this week so you guys are more than welcome to fill in the empty space!” 

“Thanks,” Noel said, reaching out to shake her hand. “I really appreciate your letting us drop in so unexpectedly like this.”

“You have _ very _ strong hands,” Christine noted, sounding more impressed than she should have been with Noel’s grip. The instructor crossed her arms just under her boobs and gave them a subtle adjustment as she asked him: “Have you ever considered taking an aerial silks class here? With a grip like that it would probably be easy to pick up.”

“That actually sounds kind of fun,” he replied smoothly. “But it sounds pretty hard for a first timer to just walk into something like that.”

“Working with the silks is really fun. It can definitely be a challenge to get the hang of, but I love it. Aerial workouts are great for your arms and your core,” Christine explained. Cody and Kelsey elbowed each other, no doubt referencing the wires they spent most afternoons suspended from. Ignoring their antics, Noel picked up on the fact that this instructor was flirting with him. He gave her a quick, equally flirtatious once over before he answered her invitation.

“I’ll definitely check it out.”

Christine winked and turned to face the other two members of the group, who had been whispering quietly to each other during Noel’s brief conversation with the teacher. “Alright, Kelsey, you get them settled in and I’ll get the room temp ready to go.”

Kelsey gave the instructor a quick hug before leading the boys over to an empty space on the right side of the room. Noel got his mat situated while Kelsey popped back into the hallway to look for the last member of their group. Alicia was one of the lighting techs and had volunteered to join them on their hot yoga escapade. 

Noel watched as Cody slid a headband on in order to keep his hair from flopping into his eyes. He’d grown it out for the Peter Pan auditions and Elise had asked him to keep it that way for the show; he’d dealt with headbands a lot in the past month. This one was pastel pink and said _ Flamingo _ across the front. Noel pointed to it, “Cool headband. Very _ aesthetic _.”

“Thanks. My mom found it for me, actually,” Cody said. He didn’t seem as cheerful as he had ten minutes ago and Noel wondered what was up. Before he could ask, though, Kelsey returned with Alicia in tow. While Alicia rolled out her mat, Cody elbowed Kelsey and pointed to a slim, redheaded woman in the front row. She was surprisingly tan for a redhead, but Noel supposed that her tan was normal for a Californian. 

“There’s your _ lady love, _” Cody teased. “What’s her name again?”

“Shut the hell up, doofus, she’ll hear you. And I don’t know her name.”

“Just ask her out! You’re never going to get anywhere with her if you don’t introduce yourself, doofus.”

“I don’t want to introduce myself! I’m about to go on a nine month tour across the United States.”

Before the conversation could continue, Christine made her way to the front of the room and held up her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, I’m getting the room nice and warmed up, so let’s get our bodies nice and warmed up, too!” As she made her announcement she also made direct eye contact with the suddenly blushing Audio tech. The class started with some basic stretching and then moved on to more difficult poses; it was harder than either Noel or Cody were expecting.

Rather than having eyes for only Cody, as he’d expected, Noel found himself equally torn between the two attractive blondes. Christine was actively flirting with him, making unusual amounts of eye contact from the front of the room and even correcting his posture with a firm hand to his lower back at one point. Cody didn’t look at him once, which was disheartening. 

Noel couldn’t say the same for himself. He couldn’t help it, Cody looked great in workout gear. His grey athletic shirt was sticking to his chest with sweat and his hair was a floppy mess. His socks didn’t match at all. Cody had never been so endearing. The intense focus in the actor’s eyes as he observed and copied each new stance was both adorable and admirable. 

By the time the class was over, Noel understood why Kelsey had referred to her legs as “jelly” the week previous. “I think I’m going to die,” he stated, finishing off the lukewarm water in his metal bottle. 

“You’re a huge drama queen for someone who doesn’t go onstage,” Kelsey teased. Alicia nodded.

“Sound techs are bitches,” she agreed.

“Listen up, Light Booth,” Noel pointed, “I know ya’ll are up there in the catwalk talking shit.”

“Awww did I hurt your feelings?” Alicia asked, pretending to wipe away a tear. They both burst into laughter, easing the nervous tension that Cody and Kelsey were beginning to feel. Alicia threw a sweaty arm around Kelsye’s shoulders and let out a brief chuckle, “Don’t worry guys, the techs may be split into factions but we all love and help each other.”

“I couldn’t do the show without her,” Noel agreed. 

“I’d be fine by myself,” Alicia retorted, tossing her ponytail back. They laughed again as Christine approached. 

“Will you be back next week?” she asked the three newcomers. Cody and Alicia shook their heads ‘no’. 

“I’m thinking about it,” Noel confessed. He didn’t miss Cody rolling his eyes, so he instinctively added, “But I’m not sure yet.”

“Well if you do decide to come back, or if you want a discount on some aerial silk lessons, here’s my card.”

“Thanks.”

The group of theatre kids packed up their mats, bottles, and towels and headed for the showers. The girls turned right towards the women’s locker room while the boys took a left towards the men’s. Noel made sure Cody was watching as he tossed Christine’s business card into a trash can outside the locker room. The blonde sounded confused when he said, “I thought you were going to come back.”

“I don’t know. Yoga isn't really my kind of workout.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Plus that instructor seemed kinda weird.”

“I thought you liked her.”

“Eh, she was okay. I wouldn’t say she was very professional, though. Was it just me, or was I getting hit on way too much?” Noel asked. He realized that Cody’s odd behavior seemed a lot like his own when he’d been jealous of Kelsey two weeks ago. Rather than push the topic, however, he dropped it completely. “You gonna shower?”

“Absolutely, otherwise Kelsey won’t drive me home. If I make her car smell funky she’ll straight up murder me.”

“Damn. She must have a nice car.”

“No, it’s a piece of shit. It just already smells funky enough without my help.”

“Dude, you should do standup. You’re fucking funny,” Noel chuckled. He rifled through his gym bag for a moment before groaning slightly. He glanced up at Cody and bit his lip, “I forgot my shampoo, did you bring any?”

“Yeah, you wanna borrow some?”

“Yeah, thanks, man. I can pay you back with a smoothie after we leave,” Noel offered. Cody gave a half-hearted smile. 

“That’d be cool.”

* * *

The process of showering was difficult, to say the least. Cody was _ hot. _The way the water cascaded over his face and down his toned chest was ungodly. His butt was perfect, his legs were fucking incredible...Noel had to walk himself through the Act 2 sound cues three times to keep his dick from awakening and ruining it all. Cody didn’t seem the least bit bothered by being nude and this close to Noel, however. 

“You alright?” he asked, his tone light and teasing.

“Huh?” Noel opened his eyes, glancing at _ only Cody’s face. Just Cody’s face. Do not look down. _

“You seem a little distant, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m thinking through my cues for the show.”

“We don’t have today off, dude.”

“I know, I just have a busy brain I guess. I figured it was better to keep it occupied with the show.”

“I guess that makes sense. Even at the bar you seemed distracted. Does your brain ever like...calm down?” Cody asked. The amount of legitimate concern in his voice hit Noel hard in the chest. He felt something in his heart contract and his feelings for Cody only intensified. _ Well fuck me, I guess. _Cody interrupted his thoughts a second time, “You look like you’re about to die.”

“Sorry, I just don’t want to mess things up,” Noel replied. Cody misunderstood his meaning, thank God, and continued to reassure him that the audio for the play sounded amazing. 

“You never miss a cue and the sound design for this show is _ incredible. _”

“I’m really glad you think so. You spend the most time on stage, so I really appreciate that compliment.”

“Honestly,” Cody began, eyes locked onto Noel’s, “I could lose myself on that stage. Between the sound design, the set, and the wires...sometimes I forget I’m acting up there. Sometimes I forget that Cody exists at all; I’m just Peter Pan.”

“You and Kels do have some amazing chemistry,” Noel added. Cody laughed, one bright chime that startled several other bathers as well as his coworker. 

“Yeah, she’s great. I’m so excited that I get to work with someone that I now consider my best friend. I wouldn’t be doing this well without all her help and support.”

“That’s awesome, I’m glad you’ve got someone like that.”

“Yeah, but we’re not like _into _each other or anything.”

“Kelsey talked to me about that earlier this week and I know we’ve talked about it before, too. You’ve got Tony awards to win before settling down with anyone, right?”

“Something like that.” 

The conviction from their previous discussion seemed significantly lacking this time around, but Noel buried his hope deep in his chest cavity. Most likely, Cody was just tired from their intense workout. There was no way in hell that this perfect, adorable, hilarious blonde creature before him could like him back. No way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please gimme that good good validation. I have to spend tomorrow with my mildly homophobic family and I'm gonna need the extra love. Thanks, fam.
> 
> Also, if you want to get in touch with me but you DON'T have a Tumblr, you can just email me. taddy365 at gmail, kids.


	7. Bathroom Break

The Monday before tech week, Noel accidentally stumbled upon Cody crying in the upstairs bathroom. Elise couldn’t decide between two canon noises for the Long Tom scene, so while everyone else was out to lunch, Noel was doing some sound editing. When he thought he’d punch through the booth window in frustration, the tired tech knew that the upstairs bathroom was generally deserted and a good place to scream for a second. He certainly hadn’t been expecting to find the lead actor sobbing alone in a closed stall. Unsure of how exactly to help the situation, Noel asked, “Hey dude, you alright in there?”

“Oh shit,” Cody nearly choked, his voice sounding panicked through the closed door. “I-I’m fine. I-I...one se-second.”

“Take your time, man. I can leave if you want some privacy.”

“N-no, it’s n-no big d-deal,” Cody sniffled, slowly swinging the metal stall open. Noel turned and locked the bathroom door behind him before making his way back over to the upset actor. Cody’s red eyes widened in surprise. “I-I didn’t kn-know you could do th-that.”

“All the bathrooms have an inside lock. It’s so the janitors can use chemical cleaners without risking some ensemble kid getting into them,” Noel explained. “Now you know so you can come cry up here without getting interrupted.”

“Well this is r-really emb-barrassing,” Cody muttered, still trying to calm down enough to speak without hiccuping. “I-I didn’t th-think anyone would come up h-here.”

“No worries, dude, it’s all good. I’m not going to judge you for freaking out a little. You have one of the most stressful jobs in this production,” Noel shrugged. Cody was sitting on top of the closed toilet seat, his legs pulled up to his chest. He had his arms wrapped around his knees and was resting his chin on top of his kneecaps. He looked like a little kid who’d gotten separated from his mom at the mall; the thought tugged at Noel’s heartstrings.  _ What is this, a Hallmark Christmas movie? Jeez, Noel, get a hold of yourself.  _

When Cody finally figured out how to breathe normally again he sent Noel a watery smile. The audio tech could see the effort Cody was putting into breathing normally, drawing the air in and out in regular intervals. He’d learned this at theatre camp, or maybe from a therapist. Noel figured he could help by sharing his own frustrations: “Honestly dude, I came up here to scream by myself because I’m really pissed off at a cannon sound effect. Nobody is going to judge you for a few tears.”

“Either way, I’m sorry that you had to see me like this. Again.” 

“Cody, my guy, it’s no big deal,” Noel reassured. He leaned against the stall’s now-open door and raised a curious eyebrow. “Why are you freaking out about the show so much? This has to be, what, your third panic attack this month?”

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect,” Cody shrugged. “I’d really hate to disappoint anyone.”

“What else is bothering you? I know you’re always too hard on yourself, but I haven’t really gotten to talk to you since we hit the gym last.”

“Oh yeah…” Cody trailed off, looking up at Noel beseechingly. There was something the blonde wanted to say but clearly couldn’t articulate without help.

“Dude,” Noel offered, stepping into the stall and crouching in front of the nervous actor, “There’s nothing you can say that will make me want to stop being your friend.”

“We’re friends?”

“I mean, I consider you my friend,” Noel shrugged again. He knew his nonchalance was calming. Cody always seemed more relaxed and talkative when Noel gave off his usual  _ chill vibes  _ or whatever. “So do you wanna talk to me about why you’re so upset or do you want to pretend it never happened?”

“Is it healthy to pretend it never happened?”

“Not really, but like I said, I’m not going to judge you or any of your decisions. Provided you don’t make the decision to do meth, because I will  _ absolutely  _ judge the hell out of you for doing meth.”

Cody let out a sharp laugh and stood up. Noel stood too, moving out of the stall. The lead actor crossed the small space and leaned against the edge of the sink, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hands. “How is it that you’re the only person who can cheer me up when I’m like this? Kelsey tries, she really is great, but you just...you can snap me out of it so quickly with your jokes. I appreciate that, man.”

“It’s just how I am.”

“The biggest reason for my panic attacks and this bullshit crying is that I just want to do well. My parents support me, sure, but this is the first time I’ve struck out on my own. My first real gig. My first real job in the theatre that wasn’t something I sighed an accepted. I wanted this role more than anything, but once I got it, I guess I let the stress get to me, too.”

“Your character’s name is literally the entire title of the play, I think you’re allowed to be stressed.”

“I’d never thought of it like that. I appreciate our friendship a lot, Noel. But I have to know, what do you think? Of the show?”

“As an objective observer who knows nothing about acting, or as an audio technician who totally understands the intricacies of putting on a full-length play?” Noel clarified, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. He didn’t want Cody to know how their proximity and intimacy in this moment was affecting him.  _ God, I’d kill someone to protect this stupid ass man. _

“Observer?” Cody asked, his tone hopeful. 

“I’m going to be completely truthful,” Noel stated, “Is that alright with you?”

“Let loose.” 

Cody braced himself for whatever critiques Noel was about to give him. Surely his friend would be kind in the delivery, but he was ready to have his acting picked apart by a professional in the field; by the head audio technician who’d seen him fuck up a million times in the wires. Who had seen him doing hot yoga. Who had chosen not to judge him as he cried in this bathroom alone...

“I think you’re amazing. Every time I have to run audio by myself in the booth, I almost miss every cue because I’m so caught up watching you guys perform. Even without the music, costumes, or set, you manage to suck me right into the plot. I see the same handful of scenes over and over, day in and day out, but I still love watching you fly around on those wires and fuckin’ crow like a goddamn rooster into the catwalk.”

“Really?”

“Are you going to cry again?”

“Only because that’s the nicest review I’ll ever get. The  _ New York Times  _ can suck my dick because Noel Miller said I did great.”

Before Noel could respond, Elise’s voice came over the PA system, asking for all hands on deck after the lunch break. 

“Just you wait until opening night, Cody whatever your last name is. I can’t pronounce that shit, it’s so goddamn Polish. You’re going to get absolutely showered in flowers and praise; you should know right now that you’ll deserve every bit of it. But I also know for a fact that Elise wants to do a full speed run of your sword fight for the Hook or Me scene, so get your shit together before you join us down there,” Noel smiled. He unlocked the door to the bathroom and started to open it. 

“Thanks, Noel,” Cody said, softly, still standing motionless by the sink. 

Noel gave him a smile and a nod before he disappeared out the door.

* * *

When Noel got back down to the auditorium, most of the crew was already onstage. Cody joined everyone after a few minutes, moving through the small crowd to take his usual seat next to Kelsey. His brown eyes were clear, if still a little red around the edges. Noel leaned his shoulder against the wall and trained his eyes on the director, who began to address everyone: “This is our last full week of rehearsals before we start tech and dress. I need everyone to take care of themselves. Cody, Kelsey, you two are banned from the gym this week. I can’t have anyone with pulled muscles or broken bones up in the air, understood?”

The two leads nodded from their usual spot. Elise continued, “Everyone has final costume fitting tomorrow morning, so be here between eight and nine, please. Your specific call times for next week are listed in the hall. Cody, you’re the only one who needs to be here bright and early every morning, so please get to bed on time. I will also be buying you coffee all week as an apology, so don’t worry about picking one up on the way to the theatre. Kelsey, I need you to…”

Elise kept talking to the cast, but Noel’s thoughts began to drift.  _ This was it. After next week they had three performances in this theatre to start the tour. Their first real stop was San Francisco, then Anaheim, and then they left the state. Holy shit.  _

The director turned and addressed the technical crew. 

“Lisa, Amanda, Pedro, Maggie, Noel, and Mike; I’m going to need you guys here at nine every morning. You’re in charge of your various departments, so taking roll and getting headsets sorted is up to you, okay?” Everyone murmured their various agreements. “Roll sheets will be available in the ticket office and need to be filled out every day. Those of you who miss roll will be given a talking to, so don’t be late, please. Also, the cast will be in full costume every day. We will only be doing hair and makeup for the Thursday and Friday rehearsals, sound good to everyone?”

“Perfect!” Amanda chirped. Noel had seen her makeup design work for the mermaids the day before; she could have done major FX makeup for television shows if she wasn’t so madly in love with the theatre scene. She was incredibly talented. He hadn’t seen any of the costumes, however, so he was giddy to find out what his crush would be decked out in nearly every night for the next nine months to a year. 

“Maggie has a few announcements to make also,” Elise said, gesturing for the costume department head to step forward. 

“Right. If you guys leave  _ any  _ costume pieces on the floor of the dressing room, I will personally hunt you down and kill you. It is not that hard to hang up your costume and put it in the carrying bag. We have to keep these nice and clean and in working condition for a year, so don’t eat in them, don’t sleep in them, do not wear your costume unless you are going to be on the stage in it.” 

The cast nodded up at her, faces solemn with understanding. “Excellent. That’s all I have to say.”

“Alright, people,” Elise clapped, beaming again, “Let’s start with the Hook or Me fight scene, please!”

* * *

“Proud and innocent youth, prepare to meet thy doom!” Dave/Hook declared, brandishing his sword. Cody/Peter yanked his dagger from its sheath and pointed it directly at the evil pirate. His legs were planted shoulder-width apart and his eyes were narrowed.

“Dark and sinister man, have at thee!” 

The way Cody tossed his hair back and gnashed his teeth made Noel’s heart do a little flip in his chest. There was something so oddly perfect about his acting in this scene; he really did feel like he could be in Neverland. If Peter Pan wasn’t wearing joggers and Captain Hook didn’t have his fist just kinda...balled up. They hadn’t finished painting the actual prop hook yet, so Dave just had to make a hook with his pointer finger. It took away from the dramatic effect, but Noel wasn’t really focused on the pirate Captain. He was focused on the way Cody seemed to dance away from the larger man’s thrusts and slashes, ducking and dodging like he was born for sword-fighting choreography. Elise was doing a little happy dance from behind her directorial podium in the middle of the room. Noel was keeping an eye on the soundboard while another sound tech fixed the last few pairs of malfunctioning headphones. 

“That Peter dude is kinda goofy, huh?”

“Oh, Cody?”

“Yeah. He seems a little...off.”

“What makes you say that?” Noel asked, not taking his eyes from the stage. 

“He seems like he might have some personal issues to work through. Idunno. He gives off immature vibes sometimes.”

“Don’t be a dick, Bradley,” Noel chastised, “We just get to chill in this nice little box all day. He has to get up there and pretend to be someone else for eight straight hours. Have you put on one of those harnesses? They pinch like motherfuckers; he looks great up there.”

“Alright...gay?” Bradley replied, mimicking a line from  _ Shaun of the Dead.  _

“Yeah, and?” Noel shot back. Bradley laughed quietly and stood to pat Noel on the shoulder.

“You’re whipped and he doesn’t even know it.”

“Lucky me, I guess.”

“Why not say something? He’s not into that Kelsey chick as far as I can tell.”

“It would be rude. Plus, you really don’t want to share a tour bus bunk with someone you’ve admitted your unrequited love to, do you?”

“Maybe it won’t be unrequited. I’ve seen him look at your butt while you’re fixing the stage mics.”

“Dude, you watching Cody check me out? That’s kinda sugar gay.”

“Sugar this!” Bradley flipped him off playfully and went back to fixing the headphones. Noel watched the fight continue on stage, his eyes glued to Cody’s every move. Maybe it wasn’t unrequited, but maybe Noel didn’t really want to know the answer just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Please validate me, Captain! All I want for Christmas are comments.
> 
> 2) The next update might be a hot minute because it's finals time and I am a graduate student. I have like 35 pages to write over the course of the next week and it's going to be rough. Please bear with me, you will get more story shortly.
> 
> 3) These are fictitious representations of Cody and Noel and are by no means meant to represent their real lives, opinions, sexualities, or partners etc. 
> 
> Happy Holiday Season, Sluts!


	8. Dress Rehearsal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain some mild drug use.
> 
> It's only weed but I figured I'd warn ya'll.

“Holy shit, this is amazing!” Cody declared, spinning around in front of the three-way mirror. He wanted to catch every angle of his Peter Pan costume. He couldn’t believe how detailed the whole thing was. There was an intricate pattern of leaves and vines embroidered in various shades of orange along the sleeves, neckline, and bottom hem of his forest green tunic. In order to hide the places where the flight rigging attached to him from the audience, Maggie had hand-braided a belt of soft brown leather that overlapped with the only visible part of his harness. His trusty prop dagger’s fitted sheath rested gently against his hip.

Cody was also very thankful that the costume director had opted for dark brown leggings and flexible brown leather jazz-style shoes, rather than making him wear light green tights and go barefoot as Elise had suggested initially. The way Maggie had weathered the dance shoes reminded him of the pair worn by Cathy Rigby during her numerous runs as Peter Pan; Cody hoped to do his predecessor proud. 

“The book describes Peter’s costume as skeleton leaves stuck together with sap, but this is as close to Barrie’s vision as we could get without, like, showing the whole outline of your dick to the audience,” Maggie joked. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it? I love it! I’m so sad that I’ll have to take this off at the end of every show. Maggie, you’re a goddamn genius,” Cody exclaimed. He spun around again and the middle-aged costume director let out a giggle. He bounced on the balls of his feet to test the shoes and found them to be snug in all the right places. “How did you make the shoes look so beat up without painting on them?”

“Honestly?”

“Unless it’s a trade secret and you want to keep it for yourself. I totally understand, if that’s the case.”

“I put them in my rock tumbler with a handful of gravel from the parking lot. It made the outer layer of the leather look less shiny without breaking through the fabric. You’ll definitely wear that pair out before the tour ends, and tossing a new pair around with some rocks is an easy way to replicate the same effect however many times we need to.”

“Have I mentioned that you’re a genius?” Cody asked. Maggie stood from her chair and gave the young man a motherly kiss on the cheek. She really had to write the casting director a letter of approval; Peter was exactly the same sweet, high-energy boy offstage as he was when in character. 

“Alright, get out there. Elise is going to kill both of us if you don’t make it to rehearsal on time.”

“It’s not like they can start without me,” Cody winked. He thanked the costume director again before practically skipping his way to the auditorium. This was where the real fun began. 

* * *

“Damn, Cody, you look amazing,” Kelsey said, watching her friend turn in a slow circle to show off his outfit. She fingered one of the orange vine designs on his sleeve, “Did she sew all of this stuff by hand?”

“No, those were done with an embroidery machine, but she did weave the belt all by herself. Look, the dagger has a little latch on one side so it won’t fall out of the sheath when I spin around in the wires!”

“That’s incredible. I’m so jealous.”

“Hey, I think you look lovely,” Cody said with mock-seriousness. He took Kelsey’s hand and kissed the back of it before bending at the waist for a dramatic Peter-like bow. 

“You’re a real shithead, you know that?” 

“Hey, it’s not my fault Wendy is such a tightass.”

“It literally is. That’s the whole plot.”

“Hey, the plot revolves around Wendy’s coming of age experience, so that means it’s mostly Barrie’s fault she’s a tightass,” Cody teased. Kelsey rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. He was right. Her costume was beautiful. Maggie had replicated a nightgown pattern from 1911, the first year of  _ Peter Pan _ ’s publication as a full novel.

“Do you think all that lace is going to itch?”

“It’s actually really soft,” Kelsey shrugged, fingering the white accents at the end of her sleeves. Maggie had gotten a thick, cotton-blend material in pale pink for Kelsey’s costume, deviating from the tradition of white or Disney-blue muslin. She’d also added lace to the cinched cuffs and high collar for an overtly feminine effect. The shade of pink she’d chosen made Kelsey’s pale skin seem rosier and her blue eyes seem even brighter. The costume designer was incredibly clever, that was an undeniable fact.

From the corner of her eye, Kelsey saw Noel emerge from the sound booth. She watched the head audio tech pointedly avoid looking at Cody as he hurried backstage with a toolbox in hand. She also noticed the way Cody’s eyes followed him and the disappointment that flitted across her friend’s face when Noel didn’t acknowledge them.  _ These two fucking idiots.  _

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Elise called from her podium, interrupting the brief drama unfolding before Kelsey. Mike came over to show Cody, Kelsey, and the two younger actors playing John and Michael how to work the emergency releases on their harnesses again, since they hadn’t done it in costume before. Once the small group passed his brief safety lesson, the director called for places. 

Noel rushed back to the sound booth and several of the lighting crew members could be heard vacating the catwalk above the stage. This was it. The first full technical rehearsal with everyone in costume. There would be no pauses, no line checks, and no intermission. Cody was practically vibrating with excitement. He couldn’t stop thinking about how much more fun this would all be in front of an audience. He watched Kelsey, Dave, and the woman who played Mrs. Darling (he couldn’t remember her name at the moment) move fluidly through the first scene.

Sooner than expected, it was time for his grand entrance. He knelt beneath the edge of the Darling’s nursery window and waited. When he felt the first tug of the wires against his hips, he flattened out his body just like he’d practiced and flew onto the stage, landing softly in his signature hands-on-hips pose.

* * *

“That was some great work guys. Change out of your costumes and take lunch, I’ll give everyone their notes when we get back. Sound good?”

The cast and crew agreed, noting the time before taking off in various directions. Kelsey grabbed Cody by the arm on his way out of the dressing room. “Hey, wanna grab lunch at that salad place on 42nd?” 

“I actually brought a lunch today,” Cody shrugged. “Plus I think I need a minute to chill out after all of that.”

“I gotcha,” Kelsey winked. He’d told her all about his secret bathroom chill sessions and his recent run-in with Noel. “See you for notes!”

“Later!”

Cody retrieved his lunchbox from the fridge in the green room and made his way to the upstairs bathroom. Maybe it wasn’t exactly sanitary to eat a sandwich while perched on a semi-public toilet seat, but he needed the privacy. There was also the added potential of seeing Noel again. He had begun to think that maybe he was crushing on the sweet, down-to-earth audio tech. 

The actor’s wishful thinking paid off. Just after finishing his peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, Cody heard the door squeak open and thud closed, followed by the telltale sound of the lock rotating shut. “Fair warning, you are not alone in here,” Cody said. He heard a quick intake of breath, indicating Noel’s gasp of surprise. 

“Jesus shit, Cody, you scared me!”

“Sorry, man. How was the show?”

“To be honest I was so focused on getting the cues right that I didn’t get to watch as closely as I would have liked,” Noel explained, coming into view in front of Cody’s chosen stall. They made eye contact as Cody popped a chip into his mouth. “Are you seriously eating your lunch in a fucking bathroom?”

“Yeah.”

“Gross.”

“Nobody ever uses this bathroom. It’s probably cleaner than half of the restaurants in this godforsaken town.” 

“The sad thing is that you’re probably not wrong.”

Cody didn’t know how to reply. Noel hadn’t watched the show like usual, and for some reason his friend wasn’t using any of his normal terms of endearment. Usually Noel would have called him  _ dude  _ or  _ man  _ or  _ bro  _ at least eight times by now. Cody went back to munching his way through a small ziplock full of Pringles, full of confused thoughts but outwardly silent. Noel attempted to break the suddenly awkward silence. 

“I like your costume.”

“Thanks. Maggie’s really great at what she does.”

“She sure is. The whole thing really fits you. I mean, I know it’s supposed to fit your body and stuff ‘cause it’s  _ your  _ costume and it was made to your measurements and all, but the whole design just looks totally natural and it was cute.”

“Cute?”

“I mean...you know what I mean,” Noel huffed, turning his back to Cody and resting against one of the sinks. He hadn’t meant to say any of that out loud and he wasn’t sure what possessed him to do so. 

“ _ Do _ I know?” Cody ventured. This conversation was entering a new and dangerous territory for both of them. Noel didn’t want to fuck up the rest of the tour by admitting his attraction to Cody and Cody didn’t understand why Noel was so fucking stubborn about sharing his obvious feelings. It was a stalemate that neither of them was willing to break. 

Rather than answer the blonde actor’s question, Noel moved away from the sink and back towards the door. Cody heard the other man’s sigh deeply and say, “I’ll see you for notes.”

Then there was the gentle  _ click  _ of the lock opening and the  _ thud  _ of the door closing as Noel exited. Cody was alone in the bathroom once again; confused, alone, and feeling very much like a Lost Boy.

* * *

“Jesus  _ fuck  _ I  _ fucked up!”  _ Noel shouted, pacing back and forth in front of his couch. Spock was packing the bowl of his tiny bong, ignoring his friend’s continued rant. “I can’t believe I just left him sitting in there alone like that! He’s going to think I don’t want to be his friend anymore! He’s going to think I’m just some asshole audio manager who can’t get his head out of his ass long enough to give someone a real compliment! I’m such a goddamn  _ idiot.”  _

“Dude. It’s going to be fine.” 

“Is it? I honestly think I hurt his feelings. He wouldn’t even look at me while Elise gave us our notes after lunch.”

“Who’s Elise?”

“The director.”

“Oh.”

“Kelsey didn’t even say goodbye to me on her way out of the theatre. She  _ always  _ says goodbye.”

“Maybe you should just apologize tomorrow. You know, like an adult?” Spock suggested. He flicked his lighter until a small flame appeared and touched the light to the edge of the glass bowl. Noel finally took a seat next to him and took a hit, watching the faint orange glow of smoldering weed rather than the amount of smoke accumulating in the body of the pipe. “Slow down dude, that’s going to be a fat fucking rip!”

Noel pulled the bowl from the short glass neck, inhaled whatever had collected in the bong, and breathed out a steady stream of white-blue smoke. The instantaneous buzz at the back of his skull felt relaxing. Felt normal. “I’m a dumbass.”

“Yeah, I get that part. You’ve made it abundantly clear,” Spock said, reaching to take the water pipe back. “But are you going to talk to him about it tomorrow?"

“Tomorrow is tech and dress  _ with hair and makeup.  _ I don’t know that I’ll even get the chance to see him alone,” Noel groaned. The Mary Jane had relaxed him, pulling the weight of his body into the couch cushions with its calming nature. He was eternally grateful that audio personnel didn’t have to drug test, even if this was probably the last he’d get to smoke before the tour ended or landed in another legal state. He wasn’t going to risk his employment, but toking up really did reduce the amount of panic attacks he’d had in the last year. 

“I don’t know what else to tell you, man. This is really your problem to fix.”

“I know, I know,” Noel sighed. He flipped through his Netflix options, eventually ending up on the episode selection screen for  _ Breaking Bad.  _

“Ugh, this again?” Spock asked. 

“What’s wrong with my boy Bryan Cranston?”

“We’ve seen this dramatic ass show all the way through like...twice.  _ Please _ can we watch something else?”

“If you put on an anime I’m going to kill you and smoke the rest of the bowl myself,” Noel threatened, handing Spock the remote. “Just so you know.”

“Alright.”

Noel fell asleep three episodes into  _ One Piece _ , the cleared bong on the coffee table in front of him. Spock grabbed his friend’s phone from the table and quickly unlocked it, searching through his text messages until he found KELSEY DARLING in Noel’s contacts. 

_ To: Kelsey Darling _

_ Hey, this is Noel’s friend Spock. Text me at [redacted]. I gotta talk to you about this whole Noel and Cody thing. It’s really getting to him. _

_ From: Kelsey Darling _

_ Hey! For sure. Cody’s in the same boat. I’ll text ur phone, delete these messages. _

_ To: Kelsey Darling _

_ Got it.  _

A moment later Spock’s phone lit up with a text from an unfamiliar number. He didn’t want to have to go full Shakespeare, but Noel was clearly unqualified to deal with this little crush himself. It was time for the best friends to put their heads together and get the two boys to talk things through. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya girl is back! I have one more essay to write and then I'll be on Christmas vacation, which means there will be so many updates your heads are going to spin. 
> 
> Please enjoy and feel free to validate me with comments. You guys are all so wonderful.


	9. Resolving Technical Difficulties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow, guys. Sorry for the long wait. Finals are over now, huzzah!
> 
> Minor drug use at the end of this chapter, fair warning. It's still only weed. It'll only ever be weed.

Spock took a seat across from the strange, dark haired girl and crossed his arms over his chest, “We’ve gotta do something before these two idiots kill us, themselves, or each other somehow.”

“I completely agree. Kelsey, by the way,” she introduced, sticking out her hand. Spock uncrossed one arm to shake it. He understood why Noel had befriended Kelsey so quickly, there was something unnaturally likeable about her. 

“I’m Spock.”

“So, Spock, what’s the deal with Noel?” Kelsey asked, getting right down to business. Her blue eyes were piercing and Spock suddenly felt like she could see right through him. He would hate to be on this girl’s bad side.

“He has a crush, honestly. He also knows he totally fucked up.”

“Cody is pretty heartbroken.”

“Noel wasn’t ready to admit his feelings and Cody pushed the conversation into romantic territory, apparently. Noel didn’t know how to react and he wanted to respect Cody’s no-dating policy, so he just left. He’s been beating himself up so hard about his reaction; he even cried in the shower when he thought I wasn’t around to hear. Noel probably wrote and deleted over fifty apology texts before he finally exhausted himself,” Spock explained. Kelsey’s posture relaxed as he continued, “He _ really _ likes Cody, man.”

“Fucking idiots,” Kelsey sighed. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she explained Cody’s side of things. “Cody likes Noel, too. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, the dumbass has a crush. He doesn’t understand why Noel won’t admit his clear and obvious feelings.”

“According to Noel, Cody told him straight up that he wasn’t interested in a relationship and Noel has been doing his best to respect that. He hasn’t flirted or anything.”

“Cody and Noel have both told me about his no-dates rule, but now he’s confused himself by falling for your bro on some level. I bet Cody doesn’t even remember mentioning the issue to Noel in the first place, the little shit.”

They both sighed at the same time, which in turn made them laugh. Spock rubbed a hand over his face and sighed again, “What are we going to do about it, though? They clearly won’t be happy until they tell each other the truth but Noel refuses to say anything in case it ruins their friendship.”

“Then again, what if things go badly? I don’t want Cody to be uncomfortable for the entire tour,” Kelsey rebutted. Spock shrugged.

“Would you rather have Cody be a little uncomfortable or absolutely miserable not knowing about Noel’s feelings? Personally, I’d rather have Noel get emotionally curb-stomped by Cody’s rejection right now. That way he has time to heal before you guys fly to like...Australia or some shit.”

“You’re right,” Kelsey agreed. “I guess they’ll just have to admit that they like each other.”

“Yeah, but they’re both so goddamn _ stubborn, _” Spock groaned. “How do we get them to do it?”

“I think it would be best for me to simply confront Cody. He’s the one that caused this whole issue, really. It was his decision not to date, it was his question that upset Noel...logically it should be Cody’s responsibility to apologize,” Kelsey shrugged. 

“Will it work?”

“Oh yeah. Cody and I are close but he knows not to mess with me.”

“I don’t think anyone would mess with you, honestly. You seem like the kind of girl who knows how to hide a body.”

“You say that like I haven’t hidden a body before.”

“Well...fuck.”

* * *

“I can’t believe how cool this looks!” Cody exclaimed, admiring himself in the mirror once again. Today was tech and dress _ with _hair and makeup. “Amanda, you rock!” 

“I try,” she shrugged. Cody’s hair had been gently teased to add volume and messiness. Amanda had made a thin headband of stretchy brown material and sewed a few cloth leaves to it, as well as some short sticks made of baked modeling clay. When it was positioned correctly, the headband made it look like a bunch of random debris had gotten caught in Cody’s hair naturally. She had sewed the band of thin material directly into his hair by some theatrical magic.

“Oh yeah, they do that on Dance Moms!” Kelsey piped.

“It’s the one way I can pretty much ensure that the headpiece won’t come flying off while you flip through the air. Sewing it in will also make it easier for me to use the same one on a semi-nightly basis without having to replace it as often,” Amanda explained. “He’ll probably go through three or four of these headbands, honestly.”

“Cool,” Cody repeated. He was still rotating his head in the mirror, taking in each tiny detail. His face didn’t need much by way of makeup; they’d applied a light foundation base, naturally tinted lipstick, and eyeliner to enhance his natural features but that was all. Kelsey’s makeup was also simple, but her hair had taken an hour to curl and arrange. Cody thought the dark ponytail made up of ringlets looked similar to Disney’s Wendy, but somehow prettier. This one was more elegant somehow. He attributed the difference to Amanda’s clever hands and diligent research of period-appropriate styles. 

“Alright, Ko, let’s hit the stage,” Kelsey ordered, tugging on his arm and interrupting his thoughts. 

“Fine,” he sighed, following her out of the spacious makeup studio and down the long skinny hall to the stage’s back entrance. Noel was backstage when they arrived, apparently deep in conversation with Lisa. He had a half-full paper coffee cup clutched in his left hand and one of the theatre’s clunky headsets tucked under his right. Noel also looked like shit; his shirt was rumpled, his jeans hadn’t been ironed, and his hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in days.

“Do you know when we’ll be able to get that stupid thing working again?” Lisa asked. 

“By this afternoon at the latest. We can borrow one of the extras from the orchestra in the meantime,” Noel replied. “I’ll have one of the guys run sound for the show today so I can fix this.” 

Noel sounded incredibly tired. Cody tried to smother the sense of guilt that was creeping up on him. _ Was this because of our fight? _Before he could say anything, Kelsey was dragging him over to their equipment bags and unloading the flight harnesses. “C’mon loser, we’ve got a play to perform.”

“I’m working on it,” Cody replied, slipping easily into the mess of straps and adjusting them until they sat comfortably under his costume.

By the time Cody had gotten his own rigging adjusted and helped Kelsey get into hers, Noel had disappeared back to the sound booth. _ It’s not like he’d apologized, anyway. _Kelsey tapped him on the shoulder impatiently. “Are we going to run this show or not?”

“I don’t even show up until scene two so paws off, bossy lady,” Cody teased. Kelsey rolled her eyes. She could tell her friend wasn’t in a great headspace and she didn’t want the rehearsal to go badly. Elise would have a meltdown if too many mistakes were made and that would only make Cody feel worse as a result. The plan Kelsey and Spock had worked out would have to go into effect earlier than anticipated if they were going to have a successful dress rehearsal, much less a decent opening night. Kelsey squared her shoulders and prepared herself for whatever was about to happen between herself and Cody. _ It has to get worse before it gets any better; here goes nothing. _

“Just tell him you like him,” Kelsey suddenly snapped, putting her hands on her hips. Cody turned and cocked a confused eyebrow at his friend. 

“What?”

“Cody, you absolute dumbass, just tell Noel you like him!”

“He’s going to hear you, shut up!”

“No! I’m not going to have this show go down in flames because your feelings got hurt, okay? You’re the one who pushed the conversation in the bathroom and made the poor guy uncomfortable. He had every right to leave after your question, even if he did hurt your feelings or whatever.”

“Kelsey, what the fuck?” Cody took a step back, eyes narrowed. “I thought you were on my side.”

“I like you, Cody. You’re probably one of the best friends I’ve ever made during a show, but I’m a professional. This is my _ job. _ I am _ not _going to sit idly by and watch you be miserable and maybe fuck up the performance because you can’t admit your feelings to some stupid boy. Either you tell Noel you like him back, or I’ll tell him for you.”

“Wait, like him _ back? _ You mean he likes _ me _?” 

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Alright! Places!” Elise shouted. 

“Thank you places!” Cody and Kelsey yelled back in unison. 

“I’ll talk to him during intermission,” Cody whispered, tension suddenly going out of his body. She could tell she’d finally gotten through her best friend’s thick fucking skull and forced him to think things through. Kelsey nodded her agreement, pecked him on the cheek, and ducked onto the stage to get ready for the first scene. 

* * *

Noel was bent over the world’s most irritating headset when Cody sidled up to him during the ten minute break in rehearsal. The audio tech glanced up in confusion and found himself even more perplexed by the sad, worried expression written across Cody’s face, “Hey, can I uh...talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure,” Noel said. He stood up and stretched, listening as his back popped in several places. Cody looked incredibly nervous and Noel felt something come loose in his chest. “I’m sorry about the other day, man. I didn’t know what to do, but I shouldn’t have just left you sitting there like that. It was rude as hell and I want you to know that I do care about you and want to be your friend, if you’ll still let me.”

“No, I’m sorry too,” Cody rushed, no longer able to contain himself after Noel’s truly sincere apology. “I_ like _ you. I know I told you that I wasn’t interested in dating anyone during the tour and I know that you were just trying to keep a respectful distance, but I have to tell you that I think you’re amazing and wonderful and smart and creative. I love the ambiance you created by hand, I love the amount of detail you put into everything, I love how dedicated you are to the success of the play; plus I think you’re very cute and sweet.”

“Wait, what? That was a lot of information you just threw at me, Pan.”

“I’m sorry, too. And I have a bit of a crush on you,” Cody summarized.

“I like you too, dude.”

“Friends?” the blonde asked, nervously sticking out his hand. Noel shook it, releasing a soft chuckle as he did. 

“You’re odd, Mr. Polish Last Name. Nobody can argue that.”

“Nobody should.”

“So does this mean we can hang out after rehearsal today and get back to being bros, or do you have other plans? Five bucks says I can kick your ass at FIFA.”

“I’m free if you are,” Cody agreed. Noel thought his head was going to explode, _ this bitch just does not understand how goddamn cute he is. _ “But FIFA is for douchebags. Let’s play something _ fun. _” 

“Oh you’re gonna wish we’d stuck to some dumb sports game, bitch. It’s on. I can give you a ride home after our hang out, too,” Noel offered. Cody smiled and accepted, blushing madly and only serving to endear himself more to the confused tech. “We’re just chilling as friends though, okay?”

“Of course. I understand.”

“Looks like they need you back on the stage there, man.”

“Oh shit! See you later, Noel!” 

Noel waved as Cody retreated back to the world of Neverland, his walk more jaunty and character-like than it had been all morning. This particular issue must have been weighing on the actor just as much as it had been on Noel, whose chest suddenly felt a million pounds lighter. “That kid’s gonna kill me.”

* * *

“Do you smoke, dude?” Noel asked, opening the small safe where he kept his stash. Cody shook his head, blonde hair flopping back and forth. 

“I’ve never had the chance before, really. It got legalized in Canada after I moved to Cali and I never really got into the scene once I was here,” he shrugged. “I was too focused on getting auditions and gigs.”

“Wanna try?” 

“I mean, will you be able to get me home safely if we do smoke?” Cody asked, clearly nervous. Noel didn’t want to make him uncomfortable again after the shit they’d just been through, so he backed off a little.

“Totally. It takes a lot to mess with my ability to drive or really any of my fine motor functions, but if the idea makes you feel iffy, I’ll just leave it in the safe tonight.”

“No, that’s okay. I’d like to try...if that’s chill or whatever.”

“For sure, man. I’ll pack a really small bowl and you can test the waters. I’ll only have a little, too, so I’ll be pretty much sober by the time we need to head out. Fair?”

“Absolutely.”

Noel packed the smallest glass bowl he had and took the first small hit, showing Cody how to pull the bowl from the neck properly. “Make sure you clear the chamber after you pull, okay?”

“Alright. I can do this!”

“It’s no biggie, dude,” Noel smirked. Cody’s heart did a flip in his chest and he eagerly leaned forward to press his mouth against the pipe, attempting to hide his blush. Noel watched his friend take a slow, shy pull on the bong. He cleared the chamber as instructed and even managed to hold the smoke in for a few seconds before coughing out a small blue cloud. “That was great, dude!”

“Owch,” Cody grimaced, eyes watering. “Is that normal?”

“You gotta cough to get off,” Noel intoned sagely, doing his best to sound like Gandalf. They both laughed at his bad impression and Noel took another small hit. This felt good. He was enjoying spending time with Cody, just hanging out with no expectations or rules. 

“So, wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Are you trying to Netflix and chill my ass, bro?” Noel chuckled. Cody’s eyes widened and he held up his hands in a gesture of apology.

“Oh no, I just-” Noel’s sudden burst of laughter stopped Cody in his tracks and he suddenly realized he’d been played. “You’re an asshole, dude.”

“Shut up and take another hit, kid.”

“Okay, but I already feel kinda mushy.”

“Mushy?”

“Yeah, like I’m bread dough. I feel very soft and relaxed,” Cody explained, leaning down to take another hit from the pipe. 

“I’ve never heard anyone say it quite like that,” Noel smiled, reaching for the remote. “Anyway I thought we were going to play FIFA or some shit?”

“Like this? Nah. My brain is finally quiet.”

“Do you ever stop thinking or are you just constantly running through the show in your head?” Noel asked. He was serious. Cody had a tendency to overthink every little move he made on stage, maybe that translated to offstage, too.

“I'm always thinking about the show, honestly. Like I’ve said a million times, I really want it to go well.”

“Next Friday is opening night. You ready?”

“Yeah. I can do this. I’m Peter fuckin’ Pan. I've practiced my lines and cues so many times, I could probably recite them in my sleep.”

Noel selected the Lego episode of “The Toys that Made Us” on Netflix and settled into the couch next to Cody. The bowl was empty and he was barely buzzed. “Mind if I pack some more?”

“I’d honestly love some more.”

“Cool, dude.”

“Yeah,” Cody smiled, looking Noel directly in the eyes as he did so. There was a mutual understanding between them now. “Cool.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Questions? Concerns? Lemme know what's up!
> 
> Much love to my Short Kings and their lady loves.  
Much love to you guys for leaving me such nice reviews and dropping those kudos. You're amazing and this would be way less fun without you.


	10. Opening Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, here we go, kids.

“Holy shit,” Cody whispered, glancing at the ticket sales slip for opening night. There was a big fat ZERO next to the section labeled  _ Remaining Seats. _ “You mean we really sold out the  _ first _ show?”

“We really did,” Elise beamed. “That commercial we shot was pretty special. I directed the show and I still thought about paying money for tickets after I watched it. I’m so proud of you guys. All of you have worked so hard to make this production as amazing as possible and it really shows. Forget all the stress from the last month and a half. Forget the missed cues or dropped lines. Don’t be nervous. Just enjoy the thrill of performing tonight, okay? We can worry about all the other stuff next time. Opening night is  _ yours. _ ”

“Hands in?” Kelsey asked. Elise nodded and each member of the cast put their left hand into the center of the circle. 

“Crow on three!” Elise announced. “One...two...three!”

The whole cast let out a crow in unison, Cody’s coming across clearer and stronger than the rest. 

“Break a leg out there, see you after curtain call!” Elise waved, disappearing through the side door and back into the crowd of theatre-goers. Cody caught a brief glimpse of all the people who were waiting for the house to open. There were a lot of them. More than he had ever expected. 

“We’re going to be great,” Kelsey said, rubbing her hands up and down his arms to calm him the same way Noel had once done outside the bar. The thought of Noel settled Cody’s racing heart in his chest.  _ This is going to be for him. I’m going to blow him away tonight. He said he was only in the booth for backup today, that one of the other techs would be running sound for the show...tonight is my chance to really impress him.  _ “What are you thinking about?”

“I think I’m going to go on a date,” Cody admitted. “I can network just the same with or without a boyfriend.”

“Smart kid,” Kelsey nodded. “I’m glad you’ve made your decision. I’ve talked to Noel a few times and he seems really sweet. Now, let’s get back stage and get rigged up and weight tested before Mike gets antsy.” 

“You mean before Mike gets antsy- _ er _ ?” Cody asked. Kelsey elbowed him sharply in the side and took off towards the stage door. Cody followed quickly behind, laughing quietly the whole way. 

* * *

Noel’s eyes were glued to the stage. He was listening to the audio through a headset, supervising the sound tech who was running the show when necessary but otherwise completely engrossed in the plot. Cody and Kelsey were fantastic. More than fantastic, they were  _ incredible.  _ Noel couldn’t believe how surreal it was to see Cody in his element, throwing his whole heart and soul into a performance. The actor had been high energy during rehearsals, but this was something else entirely. 

“Wendy, this is a fearfully important rock. It's called Marooners' Rock. Sailors are marooned, you know, when their captain leaves them on a rock and sails away,” Cody said, voice taking on that honey-dipped quality once again. They were standing atop a wood-and-paper mache island in the middle of the stage. The mermaids had just departed and Peter was telling Wendy a rather morbid story to frighten her. Kelsey clasped her hands to her chest and glanced around. 

“Leaves them on this little rock to drown?” Kelsey’s acting made it clear that Wendy was well aware of Peter’s little game, especially when he pitched his voice like that. It was a story told only in tone and body language.  _ This shit should be recorded. We should make it a movie. They’d win so many damn awards.  _

“Oh, they don't live long. Their hands are tied, so that they can't swim. When the tide is full this rock is covered with water, and then the sailor drowns,” Cody/Peter smirked. Wendy/Kelsey shuddered visibly and squeezed her eyes shut. From offstage came the sound of singing. The pirates were approaching, and Peter and Wendy were out in the open! Cody and Kelsey whipped their heads around to stare in the direction of the singing. Kelsey grabbed Cody’s arm and he moved in front of her protectively. 

The curtain closed. The house lights went up. Intermission. 

_ Fuck, I have to wait ten minutes to see what happens next? Wait. I know what happens next. I’ve watched them perform this like fifteen thousand times.  _ Cody and Kelsey were good at their jobs, that much was very obvious. Noel nodded to the tech and slipped from the booth. He headed for the stage’s side entrance and slipped quietly through, dodging stagehands and actors as he wove his way into the wings. Noel caught up with Cody just as the blonde man was stumbling out of his flight rigging. “I’ll be right back, I really have to pee!”

“Okay!” Noel nodded. Cody shook the last straps loose and took off at a run, headed for the small set of backstage bathrooms available to the cast during breaks. He came back a few minutes later, looking significantly more relaxed. Noel gave him a quick hug and stated, “Dude, you’re killing me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I can barely supervise the booth technician because I’m paying so much attention to the damn play,” Noel beamed. “You’re kicking ass tonight, babe!”

“Babe?”

“Sorry,  _ dude _ . You’re kicking ass tonight,  _ dude.” _

“I was only teasing,” Cody smiled, voice edging on playful. 

“You’re doing great. I can’t wait to see the rest of the show. I’m on the edge of my seat and I already know what happens in Act Three!” 

“I’ll see you after, okay? It’s almost places.”

“Break a leg, Cody.”

“Thanks, Noel! I’m sure I’ll see you after curtain call.”

The cocky, gentle, sugary vocal effect that Peter used on Wendy was lurking in the back of Noel’s mind. He wanted to hear Cody talk to  _ him  _ like that. He wanted those soft, probing eyes aimed at  _ him.  _ Noel watched as Cody adjusted the flight harness effortlessly and nearly came in his tight black jeans. It just wasn’t fair how attractive the actor really was. Hair mussed up, full of leaves and twigs, wearing leggings and the world’s most flamboyant tunic and yet Noel had never seen anything hotter. He made his way back to the booth, mind still overflowing with the sound of Cody’s Honey-Voice. 

* * *

The final scene of the play made Noel cry. Lisa asked if it was him sniffling into the booth mic and maybe could he mute that shit if he was going to continue? It was said jokingly, but Noel apologized and turned off the mic anyway. He didn’t need them to hear how deeply Cody’s performance affected him. That wasn’t any of their business, anyway. 

“Bro, are you gonna be good?” Bradley whispered. Noel shot him a glare, which didn’t do much intimidating through his tears. 

“Sorry, man, I get caught up.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I was just a little worried about you for a second.”

“It’s already clearing up, dude.” 

He was right, of course. As the Darling children and the Lost Boys gathered together in the nursery to hug and make up with Mr. and Mrs. Darling, Noel’s tears stopped and the color in his face returned to normal. The red in his eyes faded as Peter disappeared back into the wings for the last time that evening. Noel was calm and collected by curtain call. He turned the headset’s mic back on and clapped his appreciation from the booth as the cast reappeared. 

First the Natives came out, then the Mermaids, the Pirates, and the Lost Boys; ensembles bowed together in groups first before joining to form a long line across the back of the stage. Mrs. Darling, Smee, the Tinkerbell technician, and Nana bowed together. John, Michael, and Mr. Darling/Captain Hook were grouped as main characters. Finally, Kelsey/Wendy came running out to take her solo bow as a lead. Once she was done, the whole cast gestured up and to the left, where Cody/Peter came flying out from backstage. He did a few quick flips through the air before landing and bowing deeply. Noel glanced around and found most of the audience on their feet.  _ A standing ovation on opening night; Elise is going to absolutely lose her shit once the theatre clears.  _

“There’s your boy,” Bradley joked, jostling Noel’s shoulder with his own. Noel rolled his eyes.

“He’s a good friend.”

“Whatever, man.”

_ “What are you two assholes in there arguing about?”  _ Lisa asked over the headset.

“Nothing, Lisa. Bradley’s just making a fool of himself for my entertainment.”

_ “Sounds about right. Once the first three rows have evacuated the theatre, both of you should head backstage. Tech is doing separate notes tonight so we can keep things short,”  _ Lisa instructed. Noel relayed the information to Bradley, and both of them snuck into the wings once the auditorium had cleared out slightly. 

“Hey, Lisa, great show!” Noel congratulated, giving his boss a quick bro-hug. Lisa gave him a few firm pats on the back for good measure. 

“You kids did great with the audio cues. I have no major notes for either of you;  _ but _ if you’re going to let Manny run sound for any of the shows, make sure either you or Bradley here trains him. I cannot have that kid fucking up if either one of you eventually needs a sick day or for some reason can’t work the booth,” Lisa instructed. “That’s all I’ve got in my Audio Notes. Go home, both of you. You did fantastic.”

“Noel here might have a date tonight, eh?” Bradley joked again. Noel pulled the blonde man aside, away from their boss, and narrowed his eyes angrily. 

“Drop it, Brad,” he ordered. Bradley knew he was in trouble when Noel shortened his name. 

“Sorry, man.”

“Cody and I are just friends. Please leave it alone.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, boss.”

“I know. I just don’t want you pushing your limits in front of Lisa and getting in trouble for harassment, okay?” 

“Shit. Sorry.”

“See you tomorrow at nine for tech call, alright?” 

“Yeah, see ya Noel.”

“Night Bradley.”

The use of his full name relaxed the tech once again, and Noel watched as his booth buddy disappeared out the back door and into the crew’s private parking lot. He still had to congratulate Cody and Kelsey before he could go home.

* * *

“Hey! You guys did amazing!” 

“Thanks!” Kelsey beamed, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. Cody was still trying to brush  _ his _ hair back to its normal flatness, but the process wasn’t going well. Even with the headpiece removed, the blonde strands were incredibly messy and tangled. 

“Sit down!” Amanda ordered, entering the makeup studio with a bottle of something green in her hand. “Let me take care of that before you rip all your hair out by the roots.”

“What’s that?” Cody asked, taking the requested seat. Amanda sprayed a fine, pear-scented mist over Cody’s head and started brushing through the artistic tangles. 

“It’s Suave detangler for kids. Works really well on fine hair like yours. It relaxes the hairspray enough for me to brush the tangles out. Now, you definitely need to take a shower when you get home tonight so I can style your hair tomorrow morning for the matinee. Otherwise it won’t set correctly and your headband might come out on stage.”

“You got it, ‘Manda,” Cody smiled. Noel took a seat next to Kelsey and started asking her about the play.

“So, did you have any stage fright?”

“Not really. Not this time. The first scene was the scariest, but Cody made the rest of the play seem really natural.”

“Aww, thanks Kels,” Cody beamed. If you could power a city on happiness alone, Cody would have LA lit up like the star on a Christmas tree. 

“Elise was sobbing,” Amanda intoned, brushing through Cody’s hair section by section until it laid flat again. “I think you moved most of the audience to tears.”

“I cried,” Noel admitted. Kelsey snorted once in response, hiding a laugh. “What? You two were fucking great!”

“Well, we appreciate it.” 

“Yeah, but where are my flowers?” Cody teased. 

“Yeah! What Cody said!”

“Tomorrow I’ll bring you flowers,” Noel placated. “A dozen roses each.”

“Get out of here,” Amanda said, ushering the three of them out the door once Cody’s hair was all straightened out. “And don’t forget to shower!”

“We won’t forget!” Kelsey promised. She gave each boy a quick hug on her way out the door, “See you tomorrow!”

“Night Kels.” Cody and Noel replied in unison. 

“See you in the morning, Cody.” Noel turned and opened his arms, expecting another quick hug goodnight. Cody surprised him by standing on tiptoe and placing a quick kiss on Noel’s cheek.

“See you!”

Before Noel could open his mouth to reply, Cody had made his escape. The actor darted down the sidewalk in the direction of his apartment, the corners of his mouth pulled up into a wide and satisfied smile. Tonight had been everything he could have hoped for and more.

Noel was still frozen in shock. As he stood, staring at the door Cody disappeared out of, a single line of the play made its way through his head: “ _ They’ll sweetly drown you if you get too close.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh?? Feelings? Opinions? Ideas for cool dramatic twists? 
> 
> Things are finally getting started!


	11. Act 2: Scene 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My grandmother always says "pop a squat" instead of sit, in case you're wondering what kind of Midwestern bullshit that is when it shows up. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

_“Come away with me.” _

_ “Cody? Is that you?” Noel called out. The stage lights were cranked to their highest lumen settings, blinding and disorienting him. The auditorium was empty, and threw his question back at him from three hundred vacant seats in an echo. _

_ “I'll teach you to jump on the wind's back, and away we go. Noel, when you’re sleeping in your silly bed, you might be flying about with me, saying funny things to the stars.” _

_ “Cody?” _

_ Cody’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Noel turned in circles, looking everywhere but seeing only the empty black-painted stage and the bright yellow-white halos of the lights. The confusion made him dizzy and he collapsed to his knees, closing his eyes against the sudden anxiety that threatened to bubble out of his chest with a sob. That tight feeling had returned to his solar plexus, caging his breath inside his lungs and threatening to suffocate him. Just as the panic was about to fully set in, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and the voice asked, “Boy, why are you crying?” _

_ Noel opened his eyes and found Cody’s face only inches away. The rest of the actor’s body was up in the air, doing the ankle-hook move that filled Noel’s stomach with butterflies every time he saw Scene Two. He could only muster a soft, anxious reply: “That’s not your line.” _

_ “No such things as lines,” Cody shrugged. The blonde man was in full costume and makeup again, and Noel realized with no small amount of shock that Cody wasn’t hanging from the wires at all. He was floating in the air completely of his own volition. _

_ “Are you flying for real, dude?” _

_ “Come away,” Cody urged, holding out his hand. Noel accepted the hand cautiously and nearly pissed himself when his own feet started rising from the floor. He _ certainly _ wasn’t wearing any wires. “You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and they lift you up into the air. Are you thinking about me, Noel? Am I a happy thought?” _

_ “Yes,” Noel breathed, both of them now upright and eye-to-eye in the air above the stage. They continued to ascend, and the brunette worried that they might bump into the ceiling; but the roof of the theatre was suddenly gone. The two young men stayed suspended in the air above LA, looking out at the lights of the city around them. The way the moon reflected off the side of Cody's face was ethereal, entirely fairy-like in every possible way. _

_ In this moment, Noel wholeheartedly believed in magic. As he observed the silent beauty of the world beneath their dangling feet, Noel's heart was full to bursting with something that closely resembled _ _love_. _ Cody was still holding his hand, their fingers laced tightly together. The strength of the blonde's grip made Noel feel much safer. _

_ “Forget them, Noel, forget them all,” Cody urged in that honey-sweet voice as he tugged the brunette towards him with their linked hands. Noel's breath left him again for entirely new reasons as Cody whispered, “Come with me where you'll never, _ never _ have to worry about grown-up things again.” _

_ “Are you asking me to come to Neverland with you?” _

_ The actor nodded silently. _

_ “Okay,” Noel took a deep breath. “I’m ready.” _

_ Cody brought their faces closer together and Noel closed his eyes automatically. He felt the pressure of soft, dry lips against his and instinctively moved to wrap his arms around the other man’s waist; but as soon as Noel untangled their fingers, Cody disappeared. Noel was free-falling down towards the stage, screaming at the top of his lungs for Cody to save him before he hit the unforgiving wooden surface. _

Noel jolted awake, his pajama pants and sheets soaked through with cold sweat. His arms were reaching for someone who wasn’t there and he self-consciously wrapped them around his own midsection to fill Cody’s absence. “What a fucked up dream,” he told the empty room. He glanced at his phone; it was five in the morning. He might as well just get up now and shower before heading to work. If he didn’t shower he’d smell like a gym sock all day, and whoever his booth partner was for the matinee would be pissed.

Noel wiped his brain of anything but the sound cues for today’s show as he turned on the hot water and got undressed. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized he needed to shave before work, too. _ Damn. What a day it’s going to be. _His mind didn’t stay focused on the cues for long, however; it wandered quickly and determinedly back to his crush as soon as the warm water hit the top of his head.

Maybe he should just ask Cody out on a date already. They’d hung out alone together as _ just friends _ and it had gone amazingly well. They had obvious chemistry. The conversation had been easy to navigate and the jokes they’d made about the toy documentary were top notch, leaving both men in tears during the course of the show. The two of them would probably make a great stand-up duo if they ever decided to take a break from the theatre scene; _ did comedy count as theatre? _Either way, it had gone incredibly smoothly and Cody had even fallen asleep on the way back to his apartment, dozing adorably in the passenger seat of Noel’s used entry-level Audi. 

He rested his forehead against the wall of the shower, sighing deeply to calm himself down. Now was not the time to debate his feelings for Cody. Now was the time to prepare for the upcoming shows. He was running the soundboard for both performances today, probably teaching Manny like Lisa had asked, so he’d need to stay focused. There was no room for mistakes. He was management now and that meant total professionalism, no matter what was happening in his personal life. 

Squaring his shoulders and reaching for the shampoo bottle, Noel decided that he’d ask Cody out tomorrow, on their day off. He just had to make it through the matinee and the evening performance, first. 

* * *

On Saturday morning, Cody arrived at the theatre promptly at 8am for hair and makeup. It was Kelsey’s turn to buy coffee, and she’d decided to deviate from the norm of Starbucks frappes and grab cappuccinos from some local cafe instead. Neither of them were upset by her decision since the coffee ended up being way tastier than anything Starbucks could possibly invent. “This is the shit, dude, where did you get it?”

“Uhhh...the Blue Heron cafe?” Kelsey said, reading the side of her cup. Cody laughed at his own lack of common sense and Amanda chastised him for moving his head around and interrupting her work. 

“You two are impossible,” the hair and makeup manager sighed. “If I didn’t have assistants to take care of the rest of the cast, you’d each have to come in at four in the morning to be finished in time.”

“Sorry, Amanda,” the actors apologized in unison.

“It’s alright. Just sit still while you talk.” After a few final adjustments, she patted Cody on the shoulder. “Alright, you’re all finished. Kelsey, hop in the chair.”

“It’s ringlet time, baby,” Cody said, making finger guns in Kelsey’s direction. She rolled her eyes in response.

“Did you talk to Noel after I left last night?” she asked, remaining perfectly still so Amanda could curl her hair without burning her. 

“Nah, I was pretty tired after the show. I knew I’d need to be up bright and early anyway, so I took off maybe two minutes after you did.”

“Nothing exciting happened _ at all?” _

“No, dude. Seriously.”

“Don’t lie to me, Cody Kolodziejzyk,” Kelsey threatened, enunciating his name perfectly in her threatening tone. Cody avoided eye contact by taking another sip of his drink. “Dude, really? What happened? What did you do?”

“Okay! So maybe I kissed him on the cheek and ducked out before he could say anything,” Cody admitted. Amanda and Kelsey both gasped. 

“You _ kissed _ Noel?” Kelsey questioned.

“Just on the cheek! It was a very tiny one! Middle school kids have had more passionate smooches.”

“Wait, hold on. Do you mean Noel Miller?” Amanda interrupted. 

“Yeah, why?”

“That man has had a crush on you since day one,” the older woman explained. “Everyone in the crew pretty much knows.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Amanda continued. “But I’m glad you guys are finally acting on your feelings. Jeez. All the lingering glances and disappointed stares between the two of you were getting really annoying. The sexual tension of it all was just _ unbearable. _”

“I get it,” Cody laughed, realizing that Amanda’s teasing was meant to be melodramatic and funny rather than accusatory. “We’re stupid, horny, and sad! What more do you want from us? A real relationship where we both grow as people and love each other?”

“Fuck, he really is a genius,” Kelsey added to the roast. Amanda nodded. 

“What is it that Tink is always calling Peter?”

“Silly ass,” Kelsey answered. 

“Yeah. You’re a silly ass indeed,” Amanda joked. Cody groaned and tossed his empty coffee cup into a nearby trash can. 

“I’m being bullied! I’m going to the costume room so Maggie can tell me I’m pretty,” he declared. Kelsey and Amanda both laughed as he flounced from the room as flamboyantly as possible. The high, clear sound of their laughter followed him down the otherwise empty hall. It only disappeared when he rounded a corner and headed into the small, comfortable room that functioned as an office for the costume department director. “Hey, Maggie!”

“Ah, if it isn’t the Pan,” she smiled fondly. Cody thought she looked like a kindhearted witch ninety percent of the time; today her mass of red hair was pulled back into a disheveled bun, and she was wearing a pincushion on her wrist like a watch. Cody shuffled his feet a little, anxiety slowly making its way into his expression. “Did you come to chat with me or get into your costume?”

“A little of both?” 

“So, what do you want to talk about? Usually you only get this flustered if you’re worried about something. See, look, you're furrowing your eyebrows.”

“Sorry about being so angsty all the time,” Cody apologized. There was something so soothing about Maggie. Maybe it was her motherly, nurturing personality; maybe it was her endless supply of inappropriate jokes. For some reason or another, she was the only member of the crew that Cody trusted completely. Elise was in a position of extreme authority so there was no room for familiarity there. Lisa was rough around the edges and loud, not quite approachable enough for someone with Cody’s personality. Kelsey had bonded immediately with Amanda, so he gave the two of them time to chat alone whenever possible. Maggie was calm and caring and creative, all qualities that drew Cody to her office on his bad days. 

“There’s no reason to apologize, kiddo,” she said, patting the empty chair next to hers. “Just pop a squat and talk to me.”

“I really like Noel Miller,” he admitted. Maggie smiled wider, the deep crow's feet at the corners of her eyes revealing just how happy she really was about Cody's confession. “And yesterday I kissed him on the cheek after curtain call.”

“That would explain all the blushing he did last night. Noel wouldn’t admit what happened to anyone, but I heard Bradley teasing him about it on their way to lock down the sound booth,” Maggie said. “I think he really likes you, too.”

“I want to ask him on a date, but I don’t know Los Angeles very well. I’m not from around here and coming up with fun ideas has been difficult.”

“Why not ask him to help you plan it? I’m pretty sure he’s local, or at least he’s been around LA for a few years longer than you have.”

“This is why you’re a costume engineering genius and I just recite lines.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, kid. A standing ovation on opening night is a good omen for the show's run.”

Now it was Cody’s turn to blush. “I just wanted to impress him.”

“Channel that energy into every performance and we’ll never have tickets to sell at the door again,” Maggie joked. 

“Wait, is the matinee sold out too?”

“Yup, and so is the evening show for tonight. Around midnight the online ticket service emailed Elise the notification,” she explained, “There isn’t an available ticket for any of the California shows, we’re entirely sold out through the Anaheim tour stop.”

“Holy shit,” Cody breathed. 

“Don’t freak out, kid!” Maggie ordered. She stood and pulled Cody to his feet, wrapping her arms around the young man's shoulders automatically. “Just get out there and _ be _Peter Pan. I saw the way you looked last night on that stage and I have never been more proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

Cody allowed himself to be held for a few moments longer. He needed this. He hadn’t realized how touch starved he’d become over the last few weeks; Maggie’s gentle, affectionate embrace was filling something deep in Cody that he hadn’t understood to be empty before. 

“Now, before you start crying and ruin all the hard work Amanda did on your makeup, go get your costume on. I’m sure Elise is going to page for weight testing soon,” Maggie instructed, releasing Cody from the hug. She unlocked the changing room and Cody ducked inside after thanking her again for the conversation and the hug.

Maggie was right, of course. She always was. If Cody used his feelings for Noel to fuel his performances, the cast would continue getting standing ovations; they might even get some good reviews. More determined than ever to do his best, Cody pulled his green tunic down over his head and smiled into the mirror. “Oh, the cleverness of me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first slow burn and it's honestly killing me right now. I've never posted so many chapters without actual romantic content before and I'm dying.
> 
> Please give me some validation, it's all I want for Christmas (or whatever gift-giving winter holiday you partake in). Drop a comment if you want to brighten my day!
> 
> As Always: These are not real representations of Cody or Noel, merely caricatures of my two fav YouTube boys and their chemistry. I respect my Short Kings and their real lives and do not intend for this to be taken seriously at all.


	12. Dream Sequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, guys, I'm so sorry for the delay. It's been a crazy week and a half.

“Another standing ovation, huh?” Noel asked, leaning his torso casually against the doorframe of the changing room. His posture radiated ease, and he had a small brown paper bag clutched in either hand; one was labeled _ Cody _ and the other _ Noel _. He held out the bag with Cody’s name on it, “I brought you some lunch.”

“Did Elise order food for everyone?” Cody asked, taking the bag and peeking inside. There was an apple, a bag of chips, a sandwich wrapped in deli paper, and a chocolate chip cookie in a small Ziploc bag. 

“Yeah. There isn’t enough time between performances to risk people coming back late from lunch, so she just ordered everyone sandwiches.”

“That’s sweet of her. Want my cookie?”

“Do you seriously not want a cookie, man?”

“Yeah, I’m not really in the mood for anything sugary right now. If you feel like it’s not fair, you can trade me for three of your potato chips.”

“Deal.”

Noel opened his small bag of chips and offered a few to Cody, who shoved them directly into his mouth. He handed Noel his bagged cookie before digging the sandwich out and unwrapping it. “Turkey and cheese! Hell yeah! Elise is probably one of the nicest directors I’ve ever worked for.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen some nasty characters. My first play was _James and the Giant Peach_; I was only seven or eight years old and I was playing the Caterpillar. The director was this really demanding old guy whose breath always smelled like green olives. He yelled at us constantly even though we were just kids. It drove my Mom nuts but it was a school gig so there wasn’t much we could do about it.”

“That’s absolutely disgusting,” Noel groaned. “Why do adults have to be like that?”

“I don’t know, man. Sorry.”

“I’m not actually mad or anything.”

“Oh. Good. I would hate to make you mad,” Cody admitted.

“I think it would be damn near impossible for you to do it in the first place,” Noel shrugged in reply. They ate the rest of their lunch in comfortable silence, sitting cross-legged on the cold tile floor of Cody’s tiny private changing room. When they had finished and thrown away their trash, Cody took a seat in front of the mirror and started adjusting his hair. 

“How’s Manny?”

“Oh that kid I’m training? He’s alright. Nothing special but he’ll get the job done,” Noel answered.

“Nothing special?”

“I mean this is definitely not a passion project for him,” Noel explained. “He likes this job but he isn’t really interested in being a theatre tech long term.”

“Then why join a touring show?”

“Exposure, I guess. He wants to mix music, so he’s just trying to get his foot in the door with some industry professionals,” Noel rolled his eyes. “Not that his music is very good either.”

“Did he make you listen to his mixtape in the booth?” Cody snorted.

“Oh my god it was so bad!” Noel groaned, burying his face in his hands. His next words came out muffled and frustrated, “I cannot _believe _he thinks that’s a career option, man! I can’t do it!”

“You poor thing,” Cody laughed, patting Noel on the shoulder comfortingly. “I was only joking about the mixtape, but I can’t believe he _actually _did that. What a sad day.”

“House Miller has fallen to shitty mixtapes.”

“All hail Manny.”

“Destroyer of worlds and of dreams.”

“He can’t really be _that_ bad, can he?” Cody asked, finally recovered from his laughing fit. The hopeless, disgusted look on Noel’s face almost sent the blonde man into another round of giggles. “Oh, I’m so sorry, dude.”

“Well...there _is _a way you could make up for Manny’s crimes against humanity,” Noel drawled, glancing up through his eyelashes at Cody. 

“Yeah?” Cody asked, face and voice suddenly void of their previous laughter. His smile had turned down slightly and his gaze was intense. They both knew this moment could change everything. Noel balanced the world in the palm of his hand and took a deep breath. 

“You could go on a date with me tomorrow, if you want.”

They both felt their hearts speeding up in anticipation of Cody’s answer.

“That sounds really great, Noel.”

“Awesome. Would you mind if I took you to dinner? Maybe a movie at my place after?”

“I like both of those ideas.”

“Oh my God, dude, I was so scared there for a second!”

“Me too!”

“Why you? I was the one who asked the big question,” Noel teased, breathing normally again, at last.

“I was afraid you were going to pussy out,” Cody replied, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. “I thought you might faint before you ever got to asking me out and that our first kiss would be me using mouth-to-mouth to resuscitate you!” 

“Resuscitate this!” Noel said, sticking out his tongue as he flipped Cody the bird. When their resulting laughter died down, Noel looked up from his seat on the floor with earnest eyes. “So, where would you like to go to dinner tomorrow?”

“Do you know any good places? I’m actually pretty new around here, so I don’t really have a favorite restaurant yet. Mostly I cook at home, anyway.”

“For sure, man. I know a few great spots within walking distance, even. Do you like pasta?”

“Have you seen my ass?”

“That’s a fair point, dude.”

“_My _point is that I really enjoy a good pasta. Where are you taking me, Mr. Miller?” 

“That’s a surprise, Mr. Lengthy Polish Surname.”

“Wait, hold up. Are we even allowed to _ go _on this date, dude? You’re crew management and I’m a member of the cast,” Cody questioned. “That has to be some kind of legal issue, right?”

“I asked Elise if there was any official paperwork I needed to fill out in order to ask you on a date, but she said as long as we didn’t disrupt the show’s success we had her blessing,” the brunette answered. He stood and stretched, winking when he caught Cody checking out the sliver of exposed skin near his t-shirt’s hemline. “She _ did _mention that we could request to bunk together at hotels or on the bus. That’s the only paperwork we’d have to fill out.”

“Oh. Would you want to share a bunk together?”

“Slow down there, cowboy. I think we should walk for a minute, here. Maybe after Anaheim we can consider bunking together a couple times. As test runs. But let’s go on the date first and see if we have the amount of chemistry the whole damn crew suspects.”

“That actually sounds really smart,” Cody blushed. “Sorry if I came off too strong right there.”

“No, that’s cool, dude. I appreciate your open communication. You really are Canadian, huh?”

“Shut up. You sound like you’re reading directly from a relationship therapist’s manual with your _ open communication _shit.”

“Nah, man. I’ve been reading up on healthy relationships and stuff, and so far everyone has said that communication is the most important. I don’t want to like, fight, or anything.”

“That’s incredibly sweet of you,” Cody nearly fawned. He already knew his cheeks were bright red; Noel’s thoughtfulness wasn’t necessarily surprising, but it still warmed him to the core and sent his heart fluttering against his ribcage. 

“I want you to enjoy being the star of the show and being in the spotlight. I want you to do all that networking you were so excited about last month. I’m entirely intent on taking a back seat with this whole thing so you can achieve your dreams. I just can’t hold back my feelings any longer. I like you too much, I enjoy hanging out with you, and when you fell asleep in my car I thought my heart was going to burst through my chest,” Noel confessed, each sentence tumbling over the last in his rush. “I’m sorry to just hit you with all of this out of nowhere, but I want to be honest with you, dude. I _ really _ like you, and I’m completely willing to keep this slow and casual and easy if that’s what makes you happiest.”

Cody couldn’t say anything. There were no words to express the feelings welling up inside him as he listened to Noel’s emotional rant. He was volcanic; everything rushing to the surface, ready to explode outward in any way possible. The actor stood slowly from his chair, crossed the short distance between them in two steps, and pulled Noel into a soft kiss. He wrapped his arms around Noel’s shoulders so their chests were pressed firmly together and used one hand to support the back of Noel’s neck. The audio manager’s hands moved to grasp Cody’s hips softly, unhurriedly. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it felt like a lifetime to both of them. If the play’s story had held any truth, both of them would have risen slightly from the floor, fueled by elation.

“I had a dream about you the other night,” Noel whispered after their mouths moved apart. Cody’s eyes were trained on Noel’s lips. He didn’t look away from them as he questioned the brunette man.

“What kind of dream?”

“You kept quoting the play,” Noel said, voice still unbearably soft. “And we flew above the skyline of LA, looking at the lights. You wouldn’t let go of my hand. It felt surreal, but completely perfect.”

“Really?”

“Cody,” Noel’s lips whispered over the blonde’s for a moment as he spoke, “You’re such a wonderful happy thought.”

“Noel,” Cody replied, pressing a series of slow, soft kisses along Noel’s jawline. As if they never had to leave the dressing room ever again. As if they had all the time in the world to be alone in this moment. “You’ve always been my happy thought.”

* * *

“Kelsey, he did it! He asked me out! We’re going on a date tomorrow!”

“Oh thank god,” Kelsey sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I thought you two were going to dance around this particular bush forever.”

“Okay, rude,” Cody replied, sticking out his tongue. “Why must you harsh my vibes, man?”

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“I have no idea, honestly.”

“We really need to get you out of California. You’re too irresponsible with the slang here.”

“Whatever.”

“Places!” Lisa whisper-shouted, gesturing for Kelsey to get to her mark onstage. Kelsey and Cody did their quick secret hand-shake and air-kissed each cheek. 

“Break a leg.”

“Break a leg.”

* * *

“Dude, I’m taking him to that little Italian place a few blocks over,” Noel beamed, shaking Spock by the shoulders. “Also I’m bequeathing you whatever is left in my safe, since I’m leaving in two days and won’t be in any legal states for awhile.”

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Spock sighed, giving Noel a tight hug. “Even with all your stupid gay drama.”

“You’re an asshole,” Noel stated. Spock shrugged. 

“Yeah, and?”

“That’s why I love you.”

“I know, bitch. Anyway, are we gonna smoke or what?”

“Duh. You can pick the show, too.”

“You really are gonna miss me!”

“Spock, man. You’re my best friend. Of _ course _I’m going to miss you,” Noel said, positioning a nug in his grinder. “Life wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Here’s to the never-ending success of _ Peter Pan! _” Spock declared, flicking his lighter. 

“To _ Peter Pan! _” Noel replied. But it wasn’t the play at the front of his mind, it was a beautiful blonde man in a green tunic, hair stuck up all over the place, brown eyes full of laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please gimme some comments, friends. I appreciate them so much and they really do make me write faster.
> 
> I'll try to have another chapter out faster than this one. My apologies. 
> 
> Once again, these are caricatures of Noel and Cody and are in no way meant to reflect their real lives/personalities/sexualities/etc.


	13. Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? This one is extra long to make up for your wait from last time. Can you tell I really enjoyed the Witcher show? I don't generally get into high fantasy stuff, but that show inspired me to buy all the books...so...
> 
> Weed references in this chapter, btw
> 
> My fav version of the song referenced in this chapter would be the 1956 film cast recording, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

“So, where is this place?” Cody asked, adjusting his jacket as they left Noel’s apartment. 

“Just around the corner,” Noel replied. He took Cody’s hand easily, tucking their twined fingers carefully into his own jacket pocket for warmth. “I can’t pronounce the name or I’d tell you, honest.”

“This must be _ real _Italian food if you can’t pronounce the name of the restaurant.”

“Of course. Nothing but the best for you.” Noel accompanied his statement with a quick squeeze to Cody’s hand. The blonde man squeezed back instinctively and they both smiled. 

“Do they make their pasta from scratch?”

“I did say nothing but the best, right? You heard me say that just a second ago?”

“You don’t have to be an ass about it, man.”

“Sorry, dude. I didn’t mean-” Noel was halfway through a legitimately sincere apology before Cody snorted while trying to hide a laugh. “Are you fucking with me, dude?”

“You just make it so _ easy, _” Cody giggled. Noel would have been madder if Cody hadn’t been so damn adorable. All the tech manager could do was smile stupidly back at his date like the lovesick fool he was. There was a small crowd gathered outside the restaurant as they approached; Cody squinted in order to read the sign from their slight distance, “Trattoria Stella. Sounds cute.” 

“Ever heard of it before?”

“No, but it smells amazing, even from over here. Too bad about the wait time,” he frowned, trying to gauge the size of the crowd. “I’m sure there’s at least an hour wait for this place, especially on a Sunday night.”

“What if I told you that I had reservations?” Noel asked, maneuvering Cody gently towards the door. 

“You’d be my hero.”

“Well, I have reservations.”

Cody paused their forward progress in order to give Noel a swift kiss on the cheek, then smiled to himself when it took the other man a moment to recover. Eventually they managed to bustle themselves into the entryway of the restaurant. Noel approached the hostess’s podium with a polite smile, “Hello Ma’am, I have a reservation for Miller, at six?”

“Ah yes, let me check for your… hmm… yup, there you are,” she nodded, consulting the reservation book and then her watch. “And perfectly on time. Right this way, Mr. Miller.” 

The hostess gave a professional smile, grabbed two menus, and gestured for them to follow her. She led the two men through a cozy, dimly lit dining room and over to a small corner table. Noel pulled out Cody’s chair for him before taking his own seat. A single tea-candle flickered at the center of the mahogany table, its soft orange and yellow light dancing across Cody’s skin. _ There’s something magical in the air tonight, _ Noel thought, _ not to be cheesy, or anything. _

“Thank you for choosing Trattoria Stella this evening, Sophie will be over to take your drink orders momentarily,” the hostess recited, handing each of them a menu.

“Thank you so much!”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

“Are you going to have wine tonight?” Cody asked, glancing down at his menu. 

“No, I’m the designated driver.”

“We walked here, doofus.”

“I know, but I have to drive you home later.”

“Duh,” Cody sighed, wiping his hand across his face. “I am an utter fool.”

“You’re a drama queen, that’s for sure,” Noel chuckled. “Get a glass of wine, dude. Or a beer or a martini or whatever. It’s fine with me.”

“Are we going Dutch? I know drinks from places like this can get expensive.”

“Absolutely not. You are gonna order whatever you want and I’ll take care of it, happily. I asked you out on this date. I’m paying for dinner. Got it, punk?” 

“Yeah,” Cody blushed. “Thank you again, by the way. For asking me out and for bringing me to such a cute, unique place. You could just as easily have taken me to a cheap dive, but you’re oddly noble.”

“I was raised better than some of these other boys,” Noel winked. Cody rolled his eyes affectionately. 

“It really shows.”

“Listen, I already know what I’m getting, dude. Is anything on that menu looking good to you?”

“Oh shoot, I guess I’d better take a gander.”

“Oh my god you are just so _ white, _babe.”

“Babe?”

“Is the first date too early for pet names?” Noel asked, rubbing the heel of his hand against the back of his neck. Cody let his eyes flicker aimlessly across the menu, trying not to give himself away with a smile. “I’m so sorry if is, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s kind of cute.”

Before Noel could reply, a bubbly blonde girl approached the table, pad of paper in hand. “Good evening! My name is Sophie and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. What can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll have a Coke, please,” Noel requested.

“I’d like a martini, please.”

“Can I see your ID?”

“For sure,” Cody said, slipping it from his wallet and handing it over. 

“Alright, I’ll return this when I bring your drink. Have a glance at the menu and I’ll be right back to take your order.”

“Thanks,” Cody and Noel replied in unison. Sophie headed in the direction of the bar while Cody went back to perusing the menu.

“So I can call you babe?” Noel clarified.

“Yeah. I like the way it sounds when you say it.”

“Cool. I like saying it.”

“Please continue to do so. Hmm...I think I’m going to get the linguine.”

“The cream sauce or the white wine?”

“White whine, of course!” Cody shook his head like he couldn’t believe that Noel had even asked such a stupid question. “I’m not a peasant, dude.”

“My bad,” Noel surrendered, holding his hands up in front of him.

“What are you having?”

“Spaghetti Bolognese. I like the classics.” 

“That was my second choice, for sure. What do you want to watch when we get back to your place? I’ve heard _ The Witcher _is pretty good. I played the first game, I think, but then I got too busy to game for a minute there and it fell off my radar.”

“I can appreciate Henry Cavill in period clothing. Sure, watching _ The Witcher _ sounds like a great plan.”

Sophie reappeared with their drinks and Cody’s ID. She took their food orders and promised to bring Cody a glass of water once he’d finished the martini. As soon as she left again the two men fell into an easy conversation about _ Batman VS. Superman, _prompted by Noel’s comment about Mr. Cavill.

“The ending just felt so contrived, you know?” Cody grumbled. “Bad writing I can accept, weird writing I can deal with, but _ lazy _writing? Bullshit. Inexcusable. Off with their heads.”

Noel scrunched his eyebrows together and pitched his voice down an octave, adding an extra layer of gravel to it when he spoke, “My mommy’s name is also Martha!”

“Martha!” Cody replied, his voice a slightly less gravelly version of Noel’s. They repeated the word back and forth to each other in worsening Batman impressions for a minute longer until Cody was begging Noel to stop, barely breathing between peals of quiet laughter. It was entirely too hard trying to be quiet in a restaurant, but somehow they made it work. 

“Okay Cody, am I Batman or Superman?” Noel asked. 

“Oh you’re totally Batman, dude. I’m too polite and corn-fed to be Batman; you’re too streetwise and angsty to be Superman.”

“You make a surprisingly valid argument,” Noel conceded, impressed. 

“I’m more than just a pretty face.”

“Dumbass; you’ve always been more than just a pretty face.”

* * *

“You’re totally Jaskier!” Noel chortled, bent nearly in half from laughter. Their chemistry was so natural and free-flowing that the two men couldn't _ stop _laughing at or with each other. Currently Noel was laughing because Cody’s arms were crossed over his chest and he was giving an overexaggerated pout. With his blonde haystack hair poking out from the front of a too-large pink hoodie, the blonde actor looked freakishly adorable. It only made Noel laugh a little harder; Cody had only proven his point.

“No way, I’m totally Yennefer!”

“Bitch, there is _ no way _you’re Yennefer. She has magical powers, a tragic past, and self-loathing beyond all reason! You’re a theatrical twink with a sassy streak!”

“I’m not a twink, I’m bisexual. I’m pretty sure the term ‘twink’ belongs to strictly homosexual guys; or so I have been told in the past.”

“Twink is not an inherently _ gay _ term,” Noel argued, putting his feet up on the table. “It’s more like a scientific classification. There are plenty of straight boys on Tik Tok who should definitely also qualify as twinks.”

“You know, you might be onto something,” Cody grinned. “So through that logic, you’re correct. I’m totally Jaskier.”

“So who am I, then?” Noel asked, wiping a tear from his cheek.

“Geralt, duh.”

“Wait, what? Why?” 

“A mysterious, grouchy loner who wears mostly black and spouts clever one-liners? You’re one white lace front wig away from being Geralt’s racially ambiguous cousin or something.”

“_ You _are an asshole,” Noel said, poking his finger into Cody’s pectoral. It was an oddly challenging gesture and both boys felt the electricity begin thrumming between them. Not wanting to get too hot and heavy on their first date, Noel interrupted the moment with a question. “Do you want to smoke again? You totally don’t have to, but I still have some stuff left.”

“I guess. It’s not like I’ll get to do it again for awhile, anyway,” Cody shrugged. Noel crossed the room to open his safe and retrieve his paraphernalia.

“Oh god, I hope I don’t get a weed boner watching Henry Cavill slay monsters,” Cody remarked. Noel froze, eyes bulging into the safe, every muscle in his body shocked into stillness. 

“You hope you don’t get a _ what _?” the brunette practically wheezed.

“You don’t get weed boners?” 

“Dude, what the _ fuck _ are you talking about?”

“Well after we smoked last time and you dropped me off I got a nasty boner in the shower. Then I smoked again with Kelsey on the Wednesday of tech week. That was a super stressful run of the show and we both wanted to chill out, so we went back to her place and rolled a joint. It happened then, too, but Kelsey made fun of me for a few minutes and the problem solved itself. I’m hoping it doesn’t happen again tonight,” Cody explained, not an ounce of shame in his voice or face. “That’s all.”

“Well I promise not to say anything if it does happen,” Noel swore, crossing his pointer finger in an ‘x’ over his heart. Cody stuck his tongue out.

“Whatever.”

* * *

Noel bundled a _ very _ stoned Cody into his car around two in the morning, having finally finished the first five episodes of _ The Witcher _. “Can’t I just stay here?” Cody whined, reaching out to grasp for Noel’s warmth. The brunette man paused, leaning halfway out of the car. He hadn’t been prepared for that question so soon.

“I don’t want things to move too fast,” he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to Cody’s warm forehead. “Maybe another time, babe.”

“Can I pick the music in the car, then?” 

“Yeah, totally.”

“Cool.” Noel got into the driver’s seat and fastened the seatbelt. Cody made finger guns at him. “You gotta stay safe!”

“For sure, babe,” Noel nodded. Cody had done a few huge rips from Noel’s little bong, bigger than either of them had been expecting. He was fucked up. Noel remembered the good old days, when he had been new and inexperienced. He couldn’t get nearly as high now and it kind of sucked. He glanced over to see if Cody was almost done picking out some music. The blonde man had his tongue between his teeth and his eyebrows furrowed, entirely focused on finding the perfect song. Once he located the right track, he lit up with a bright smile. Flute music drifted from the radio, confusing and surprising Noel. A few bars in, a low baritone voice kicked in with slow, yearning lyrics. “Dude, is this shit from a musical?”

“Yeah, it’s from _The King and I, _which is a terribly problematic musical; but I don’t feel like unpacking all of that right now_. _Regardless of the show it’s from, this is one of my favorite love songs of all time,” Cody sighed, eyes watery with weed-heightened emotion. He was doing his best to harmonize with the track’s two singers, voice still husky from inhaling so much smoke, “We speak in a whisper, afraid to be heard. When people are near, we speak not a word.”

Noel listened closely to the rest of the lyrics; he was so intent on figuring out the words that he didn’t even notice when Cody’s head lolled to the side, heavy with sleep. As Cody’s singing turned to snoring, Noel turned the volume up slightly.

_ “Alone in our secret _

_ Together we sigh _

_ For one smiling day to be free _

_ “To kiss in the sunlight _

_ And say to the sky: _

_ ‘Behold and believe what you see! _

_ Behold how my lover loves me!’” _

A line of dialogue broke into the lyrics, spoken by the deep, highly accented voice of the male singer. _ “When will we be together Tuptim? When?” _

The female singer’s high, lilting voice replied, “_ It can never be, Lun Tha. Not ever.” _

_ “To kiss in the sunlight _

_ And say to the sky: _

_ ‘Behold and believe what you see! _

_ Behold how my lover loves me!’” _

He had listened to the song twice through by the time they arrived at Cody’s apartment building. _ Broadway might have some good shit, after all, _ Noel admitted to himself as he parked the car and turned it off. Noel got out quietly and rounded the front of the car; he pulled his sleeping friend from the passenger’s seat and started carrying him towards the front door bridal-style. _ This is why you’ve been working out, so you can carry cute boys to bed at night and tuck them in like a real Prince Charming type. _

Once they reached the door, Noel jostled the man in his arms slightly. “Hey, sleepy head, can you unlock the door?”

“You can put me down, babe,” Cody muttered sleepily, hands fumbling with the keys he’d been holding in his hoodie pocket. Noel saw the indents in Cody’s skin where the actor been gripping them tightest in his sleep. 

“I’m good. Just unlock and open the door for me.” 

A few seconds later, Noel watched as the door swung open and lifted Cody carefully over the threshold. He kicked it closed behind him and walked down the narrow hallway to the blonde’s tiny bedroom. After opening the door, Cody had fallen right back to sleep with his head resting just below Noel’s collarbone. “Goodnight buddy,” Noel murmured, pulling off Cody’s shoes and tucking him under the blankets.

“Have such sweet dreams, Noel,” Cody breathed, eyelids heavy with sleep. His hand darted out from beneath the bedsheet to grab ahold of Noel’s. Cody pulled their linked hands close enough for him to drag his lips gently across the back of the brunette’s knuckles. “Sleep in, tomorrow, darling.”

Noel’s heart was in his throat. The phantom sensation of the actor’s lips against his skin still sparked and fizzed like the tiny explosions thrown off by sparklers. He stole silently out of the room and back down the short hall. He locked the apartment door behind him as he left by using the spare key Cody kept hidden in a fake bird’s nest nearby.

“When you’re sleeping in your silly bed,” he muttered softly, “You could be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars.”

Noel made an important decision on the silent the drive back to his place. He knew he had to tell his parents everything about his identity and his relationship with Cody, regardless of their potential reactions. _Why would I want to be part of a family that rejects me in the first place?_ _If they don’t want me around I certainly don’t want them around either. Family isn’t determined by blood, it can be found in the way people support you and make you feel better, _Noel concluded.

With people like Lisa, Elise, Kelsey, and Cody around, Noel already had a family. He’d be with the cast and crew of _ Peter Pan _ for the next year; they’d be spending all the major holidays with or near each other. If his parents wanted to disown him for being queer, what harm could it possible do in the long run? He didn’t need them. They didn’t support him financially or emotionally anymore so what would he be losing in the long run, really? Noel always had the theatre community; they would accept and love him for who he was no matter what happened (within reason, of course).

He made it home with more determination than ever and thought out the details of his confrontation as he got ready for bed. When he had finally worked out all the kinks and shuffled his way under the covers, Noel took a long, deep breath in and out. He closed his eyes against the darkness of the bedroom and slipped into a restful, dreamless sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'm just a 5'5'' little piece of shit girl. I'm a little 5'5'' little mousy girl that lives on the Archive and crawls around for COMMENTS."
> 
> This might end up being more than 20 chapters...we'll see. Either way I hope you enjoyed it, see you all soon!


	14. Exit Left, Pursued By a Bear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the long wait, but graduate school has begun again and I am up to my neck in reading assignments already. This story may update a little slower, but new chapters will arrive regularly.
> 
> Noel's coming out story in this chapter is based very heavily on my own. It felt disrespectful to write a melodramatic, fake confrontation; the queer community deserves better than hurtful tropes. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

_ “Noel! It’s such a wonderful surprise to hear from you so unexpectedly,” _ his mother drawled, self-satisfaction practically dripping from every syllable. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes from the other end of the phone.  _ “What’s your reason for dropping a line?” _

Only his Mother would say something like  _ dropping a line  _ in 2019. Hearing the odd phrase would have made him smile under normal circumstances, but this particular phone call was no laughing matter. Noel squared his shoulders and straightened his spine; finality radiated from his posture.  _ This is probably what action heroes feel like before they dive into a room full of hostile gunmen,  _ he surmised. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke, “I need to talk to you and Dad about something important, but the tour leaves for Anaheim on Sunday. Are you available at all tomorrow?”

_ “You sound really upset, dear,”  _ his Mom replied, concern replacing the smugness in her tone.  _ “Are you alright? Are you sick or something?” _

“I’m fine, Mom. It’s more of a personal issue,” Noel reassured her. “I’m not dying.”

_ “Thank goodness,” _ she sighed.  _ “Are you really sure about this whole... _ tour _ thing? You could always find work with your accounting minor.” _

“I honestly love this job. My boss, Lisa, is a rock star of the industry and I get to learn from her firsthand. The things she has taught me about stage managing and the theatre industry's business traditions are invaluable, Mom. I even get to use the degree I worked so hard for in this position. The experience has been great, the pay is fantastic, and now my foot is in the door of professional theatrical management.”

_ “Management?” _

Noel noted the excited uptick in her voice. Maybe he had finally won her over with his last point. He continued, sounding as casual as possible, “I could be making six figures in a couple years. I might even be able to manage some shows in Europe. I might even be able to get a house or a condo over there so I can work at touring shows in England or Germany. You guys could always visit me across the pond, you know?”

_ “That would be fun, sweetie! I’m happy for you. It’s nice to see you succeed at doing something you enjoy. I know your Dad and I were a little apprehensive about your degree and your move to LA at first, but we were worried about your future. We just didn’t want you to lose sight of your potential,”  _ she explained. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, and he heard the regret in her ever-shifting tone. _"But it was wrong of us to be so dismissive and nagging. That wasn't good parenting."_

“Thank you for your apology, Mom,” Noel sighed. “I will always appreciate all the things you and Dad did for me, but it's nice to hear you say those things. It sounds like you've been thinking about it a lot.”

_ "Your Dad and I have been going to couple's counseling." _

"Why? Is your marriage alright? Last time I visited you two seemed just as happy as ever!"

_ "Don't get all worked up. We're fine. We just saw how well you're doing after going to therapy last year and thought about how much better our relationship could be if we put some work into it," _ She paused. Noel heard her take a deep breath before she said, _ "Thank you for being so open about your experiences. Without you, things might not be as good between us as they are now." _

Noel was flabbergasted. His parents weren't cold people. His childhood had been full of camping trips, vacations, and time spent together. Sure, they'd had disagreements, but he'd never heard his father raise his voice in anger. Despite their warmth and love, his parents had never really shared their personal lives with Noel. He was in the seventh grade before he finally figured out what his Dad did for a living. He still couldn't really remember his Mom's middle name. Hearing his Mom open up to him like this was incredible; Noel felt a tear slip down his cheek and he wiped it away with the heel of his hand. "I'm so proud of you guys, and I'm glad to know you were listening to me."

_ "Of course, darling. You're our son and we love you. What's this whole issue you wanted to talk about anyway?" _

"It's not something I feel comfortable disclosing over the phone. That's why I want to see you this week before I leave; it's important to me."

_ “I’ll let your Dad know, honey. We’ll meet you tomorrow for lunch at Rico’s. Does noon sound good?” _

“Alright, that sounds perfect. See you tomorrow, Mom. I'm really proud of you, and I love you both.”

_ “We're proud of you and love you, too.” _

“Bye, Mom.”

_ “Bye, sweetie!” _

She hung up first. 

Noel glanced down at his phone and navigated from the _Call Ended _screen to his texting app. He tapped on his message thread with Cody and typed slowly; deliberately procrastinating the conversation as much as possible. He didn’t want to lose Cody by doing something stupid; he didn’t want to lose Cody  _ at all _ . He closed his eyes tightly as he sent the first message, praying furiously to whatever deity was listening for strength and good luck. 

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ Hey, man. Would you mind if I told my parents about you? _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Doesn’t it seem kind of early to tell ur parents?? We’ve only been on 1 date. _

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ They still think I’m straight, so I’m coming out to them tomorrow. I don’t want to hide our relationship if things get any more serious. You’re too good for that; plus I’ve needed to do this for years.  _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ In that case, be my guest. U can even call me ur boyfriend if u want. Are u gonna be ok?  _

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ Idk, honestly. I feel like a high school kid again, lol. _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Nervous as hell and scared that everything is about to be pulled out from under u like a rug? _

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ Yeah. Exactly like that. Do you really wanna be boyfriends? _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Yeah, I do. Ur my bf now, slut. It's too late to back out. _

Cody breathed a sigh of relief, happy to finally be on solid ground with the handsome brunette. He sent a quick second text, trying to avoid sounding insensitive. 

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ We can hang out tomorrow after u see ur parents if u want. Just Netflix and Hang Out. Unless u wanna be alone, I get it. _

Noel needed his newly-minted boyfriend's sense of humor more than anything at the moment; he navigated the conversation back into joking territory with one quick message.

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ No Netflix and Chill for me, eh? You’re gonna play innocent and coy now? Who are you, Anne Boleyn? _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Did u just reference " Six" ? _

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ Don’t lose your head, but I might have ;) _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Ur the perfect man, omg. I can't wait to see u again. I feel like a middle school girl w/ a first crush. Ur killin me, dude.  _

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ You're welcome. ;) I gotta go write my coming out speech like a nerd so I'll ttyl, babe.  _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Good luck tomorrow! I’ll be there for u no matter what u need, just lemme know. _

Noel took a moment to really appreciate Cody. If there was one thing the blonde man could never be accused of, it was putting himself first.

_ To: Cody Pan _

_ Thanks, babe. Preciate it. _

_ From: Cody Pan _

_ Np hot stuff.  _

Noel pocketed his phone and turned to face his open closet door. Before he had finally decided to  _ come to fucking terms with things  _ and call his parents, he’d been packing his suitcase for the tour. The cast and crew were each allowed one small piece of luggage weighing no more than twenty pounds and one “carry-on” type backpack. Noel had his laptop, mouse, headphones, and backup earbuds organized snugly in his trusty black bag, along with his Kindle and a sizable collection of snacks. So far he’d packed a few pairs of jeans, some comfy black joggers for booth shifts, and a collection of random socks and underwear into his suitcase. He reached for his lucky long-sleeved yellow t-shirt and tossed it into his luggage. Before he began sifting through the last clump of clothes on his floor, Noel let his eyes sweep the room. 

A handful of assorted clothes and a blow-up mattress were all that was left. He knew that outside his bedroom door, the rest of the apartment was equally naked. It felt...weird. Like sitting in a museum display. 

Spock had helped him clean up and pack the rest of his stuff that morning. It made Noel feel incredibly small to see all of his belongings packed into five rubbermaid containers and two duffel bags. He’d sold his furniture on craigslist and given Spock whatever the skinny hippy had wanted from the donation pile. They’d eaten pizza on the floor once everything was gone. “It feels post-apocalyptic here, man,” Spock had laughed. Noel’s chest felt tight and hollow at the same time. 

“It’s weird.”

“Yeah. Life is like that sometimes. What are you gonna do when you move back after the tour? Where will you live?”

“I’ll probably stay with my parents for a week or so while I find a new apartment. Then I’ll furnish it out of an IKEA and settle down like a real adult.”

“Really?”

“Probably not.”

“Dumbass.”

“Yeah, but I’m  _ your  _ dumbass,” Noel teased. 

“Dude, shut the fuck up. You’re an idiot,” Spock snorted. 

"My plan really is to stay with my parents, find an apartment, and chill out for a minute. Lisa said she could probably get me a job on her regular crew and I could manage one of the audio teams; that means regular projects and regular paychecks, both things I like."

"That's really awesome, dude."

"Yeah. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it."

"Trust me, Noel. With all the good you've done and all the work you put in to get where you are...you definitely deserve this success. Enjoy it, asshole."

"Yeah, but I'm-"

"Shut the _fuck _up!" Spock had groaned, interrupting Noel's line and sending them both into laughter.

Noel went back to packing, his eyes prickling with tears once again. He was not looking forward to being so far away from his best friend. 

* * *

The next afternoon arrived all too quickly. Noel had been pacing anxiously outside of Rico’s for fifteen minutes by the time his parents made their appearance. Even they, who had been oblivious for so many years, could feel the nervous tension rolling off their son in waves. He hugged each of them after saying hello, squeezing tight for the appropriate amount of time as he tried not to seem on edge. His mother held him at arm’s length and looked him quickly up and down like he was a small child who had just fallen off his bike. “Are you sure you’re alright, sweetie?”

“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine,” he reassured her, relaxing the muscles of his shoulders slightly in an effort to seem more like his normal, chill self. He knew that he wouldn’t lose his Mom after this particular confession. She’d always been there for him, even through his shittiest teenage meltdowns and his later college-induced panic attacks. Their bond was strong. 

“So what’s going on, Noel?” his father asked, patting his son reassuringly on the shoulder. 

“Do you guys want to get a table first?” Noel asked. “I think you probably want to be sitting for this.”

“I suppose,” his dad sighed, opening the door to let Noel and his mother into the restaurant. They were quickly shown to a small, round booth. The familiar faux-leather upholstery put Noel at ease. He was ready to get this whole experience over with, but wasn’t sure how to go about starting it. Luckily, his Dad stepped in and saved the day by asking, “So, Noel, what is this lunch meeting all about?”

“First of all, I want you to know that I’ve always been like this. What I’m about to tell you won’t change my personality or behavior in any way. I’ll continue being the same old Noel that you’ve always known,” he began.

“Sweetheart?”

“Hi! I’m Tanya! Can I take your drink order, folks?” an overly perky girl asked, procuring an order sheet from her apron pocket as she appeared at their table. Noel didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her sudden interruption.

“Coke,” his dad ordered. “Please.”

“I’ll have an iced tea,” his Mom piped up. Tanya turned her sparkling blue eyes to Noel, who was doing his best not to freak out. 

“And you?”

“I’ll have water, please.”

“I’ll be right back with your drinks, folks!”

“Thank you,” his Mom beamed. Once the waitress disappeared again, she turned her attention back to her son. “Alright, go ahead.”

“I’m...not straight,” Noel stated. “I’m not really into girls that much, honestly. I mean, they’re cute and nice and I could definitely marry the right one if she showed up, but I’m mostly interested in guys. I wanted to tell you guys now because I found someone worth keeping around and I didn’t want you to miss out.”

“Oh honey,” his mother sighed, reaching forward and taking one of his hands in both of hers. “As long as you find someone who makes you happy, I don't care who they are.”

“Thanks Mom,” Noel smiled, trying hard to hold back tears. He had figured happy acceptance to be a dream beyond recognition; he hadn’t expected his mom to be so quick in her understanding. His Dad, meanwhile, was turning slightly red in the face. Before he could speak, however, Tanya approached with their tray of drinks. As she distributed them, Noel's father took a minute to think. As the anxious young man watched, his dad's face went from red to pink to it's usual shade. _Thank goodness, _he thought. The waitress took their food orders, smiled, and took off towards the kitchen. 

“Noel,” his father began. “I don’t quite get it.”

“What do you want me to explain? I have no problem answering any of your questions.”

“First of all, why?”

“What do you mean,  _ why _ ?” Noel asked. "I honestly don't quite understand your question."

“Why are you like this?”

“I didn’t get to  _ choose  _ to be bi, Dad. When I started going through puberty, I realized that girls weren’t exactly starring in my daydreams. I wasn’t particularly into McKenzie’s B-cups in the eighth grade. Why do you think I had that huge Christopher Reeves phase when I was thirteen? No straight thirteen year old boy wants Superman pajama pants for Christmas.”

“I wondered why you were so into seventies movies,” his Mom piped up, smiling a little. “Now it’s all starting to make sense.”

“I still love you,” his Dad continued, patting Noel's shoulder awkwardly from across the table. “But it’s going to take me a little bit to adjust. Who’s this person you’re seeing, anyway?”

“His name is Cody.”

“Isn’t that the boy playing Peter?” his Mom asked.

“Yeah, it is. He’s really great. Actually,” Noel dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a surprise gift; his backup peace offering of two tickets to the final LA performance on Saturday night. “I’d like you to get the chance to see us both in action. I’ll be in the booth on Saturday, so you can listen to me running all the audio technology stuff, like the sound effects and the curtain call music. It also gives Mom an excuse to see and maybe meet Cody without seeming weird. Would you guys like to come?”

“That sounds just fine with me,” his Dad nodded, finally smiling again. Relief swept through Noel like a tidal wave; he felt ready for a nap from emotional overexertion. “Plus, it will be nice getting to see something you helped create. I know you put a lot of effort into the sound design; Elise has been telling me.”

“You know Elise?”

“She’s my coworker’s eldest daughter. Apparently she mentions your work ethic pretty often to her family.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew my boss?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was invading your privacy.”

“You don't really share your life with us,” his mother added. “You like to keep things to yourself, just like your father and I tend to do. We wanted you to feel comfortable enough to come to us on your own, if you so chose. It didn't feel right asking you about projects you hadn't told us about in the first place."

“I’m sorry for not telling you about Elise,” his Dad apologized. “And I am  _ so  _ sorry for the way I treated you while you were working on your degree. I didn’t know how valuable it could be, and I was disrespectful of you and your interests. Can you forgive me for that?”

“Yeah,” Noel smiled. Now he was definitely crying. But they were happy tears. “And if it takes you awhile to adjust to this whole  _ bisexual  _ thing, that’s fine. I won’t be mad at you for asking questions.”

“Thank you,” his Dad replied, equally as emotional. Tanya looked nervous as she approached with their food. 

“Good news, I hope?” she said, trying to convey a sense of false confidence just in case it wasn’t good news at all.

“Very,” Noel’s Mom beamed. 

“Good! Here’s your food. I’ll be back in a bit to check up and get you refills.”

“Thank you.”

Noel was starving. He took an eager bite of his burger and felt the ketchup smear against his chin.

“Oh yeah,” his Dad laughed, handing him a napkin. “Same old Noel, for sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shakes tin cup like a medieval friar* Comments? Comments for the poor?
> 
> This story is fictional. These are caricatures of Cody and Noel and are in no way meant to represent their real feelings, opinions, relationships, etc. Thank you.


	15. Aside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof! Big sorry for taking so long. I know this chapter isn't as long as usual but I have 3 whole-ass books due this week for school so reading takes up most of my time. My sincerest apologies!

“See you soon, buddy,” Noel said, wrapping his arms around Spock’s thin shoulders. They stayed frozen for a moment, both men unwilling to release the other from the embrace first. Neither knew exactly when they would see each other again face-to-face, despite Noel’s reassurances that he’d try to get home during the tour’s one week break in August. When the two finally separated with teary eyes and sad expressions, Noel bent slightly and nuzzled the top of Ollie’s head, “You behave yourself for Uncle Spock, little man.”

“I’ll try to be a good single mother in your absence,” Spock joked, his voice uncharacteristically raspy. As Noel looked up from petting Ollie, he realized that Spock was trying his best to bite back tears; it wasn’t going very well. The only thing holding Spock together at this moment was the tiny animal clutched in his arms. “We’re both going to miss having you around.”

“No matter where I am in the world, you’ll always be my best friend.”

“Fuck dude,” Spock half-laughed, tears finally making their way down his cheeks and into his long hair. “That’s fucking cheating.”

“Don’t worry, man,” Noel replied, his own eyes spilling over. He pulled the end of his sleeve over his hand and wiped them away. “I’m right there with you.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do on the weekends anymore.”

“You’re gonna toke up, you dumb bitch. That’s what you always do on the weekends. Plus, I can still record sick bars for you in the audio booth at work,” Noel teased. “You could make an EP if you get too bored.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“See? You’ll find plenty to do without me around.”

“I’m still going to miss you, man.”

“Yeah, dude. Same.”

“Just make sure you send me funny pictures of Cody every once and awhile,” Spock said. “That dumbass gets into some  _ situations,  _ or so Kelsey tells me.”

“You’re still in touch with her?”

“Yeah, we chat sometimes. Nothing serious and  _ definitely  _ nothing romantic. She’s a real bro, like you said.”

Noel didn’t want Spock to feel uncomfortable about his friendship with Kelsey so he just nodded and said, “You’re absolutely right about that; and I  _ will  _ send you lots of hilarious pics of Cody. Yesterday he got a wedgie in the flight harness and had to wiggle around in midair to get it out. Pure gold, my guy.”

“Holy shit, I wish I had been there.”

Neither of them knew what to say after that, so they hugged again. Noel knew he’d made the right decision, but  _ damn  _ was he going to miss this guy. “I’ll send you so many annoying texts and snaps that you’ll be glad I’m gone.”

* * *

“Did you cry?” Cody asked. Noel shook his head. 

“I almost did, honestly. I came really fucking close,” the brunnette lied, chuckling a little. “I’m gonna miss that skinny son of a bitch.”

“At least the bus ride to Anaheim won’t be super long tomorrow.”

“True. I don’t know how in the world we’re going to make it between California and Nevada, though. That trip is going to be  _ long  _ and  _ boring,  _ my dude.”

“I downloaded a few movies onto my laptop,” Cody shrugged. “We could sit together on the bus and watch them.”

“Which movies?” 

“Shit, I don’t remember. Two comedies, a romance, and a thriller, I think.”

“You don’t remember the titles but you remember the genres?” Noel teased. Cody elbowed him gently in the ribs. Noel winced melodramatically and rubbed at his side, “Let’s head in and help get this literal show on the road shall we, Mr. Violent-Pants?”

“I suppose we must,” the blonde sighed. Noel gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and Cody perked right back up. They clambered out of Noel’s car and walked to the back door of the theatre, slipping quietly inside. Cody entered the auditorium first and joined the gathering cast onstage, where Elise was handing out hotel room assignments for the first stop. Noel followed Cody through the door but jogged to the sound booth rather than the stage. He ducked inside to find Manny and Bradley, cross-legged on the floor and surrounded by open headset cases. “Ready to break out the label maker?” Brad grinned.

“Oh hell yeah, man,” Manny replied. 

“I was talking to Noel,” Bradley snickered. “But we appreciate your enthusiasm, newbie.”

“Don’t be mean, Brad. He’s a baby.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Brad smiled and rolled his eyes. He was clearly in a good mood today and Noel didn’t want to waste it. “So, what’s the plan, boss?”

“According to my handy-dandy notebook, all the cans belonging to the grips are in Set One, the lighting booth gets Set Two, we have Set Three for sound tech, and each department manager gets a private, labeled headset. The orchestra people are in charge of transporting their own cans so we don’t have to worry about them. Am I missing anyone?”

“Do costumes or makeup need headsets?” Manny asked. His voice was muffled from ripping open a pack of new label tape with his teeth as he spoke. Bradley and Noel both shook their heads. 

“Nah, they do all of their work before the show. Sometimes Maggie sits backstage with an emergency sewing kit in case something rips or goes wrong but she doesn't need a headset for that,” Brad explained. Noel fed his label maker the strip of thin, white sticker paper and watched as the machine pulled it in slowly. “God, it feels weird going on the road again after so long.”

“You’ve toured before?” Noel asked.

“Yeah, but it was only a six week tour around the East Coast. The play was some Victorian family drama; the sound cues were few and far between.”

“That sounds boring as  _ fuck, _ ” Manny stated. Brad made a noise of agreement.

“What’s the plan for this month, anyway?” the blonde man asked, glancing over at Noel. 

“Shit. Uh, one second,” Noel pulled his phone from his back pocket and quickly scrolled through his emails from Elise, searching for the most recently published schedule. “We were  _ supposed  _ to start in San Francisco last week, but the host theatre had an electrical accident. That’s why we added an extra Sunday show to this location’s roster.  _ Now _ our first stop is Anaheim. We have Friday and Saturday night shows there and on Sunday we’re taking off for Las Vegas, Nevada. We have two weeks and ten shows booked in Vegas before we have to pack up again and head to Phoenix, Arizona.” 

“Damn.”

“Yeah, what Bradley said,” Manny whistled. “That’s a lot of travel. Do we have bunk assignments yet?”

“What kind of transportation does this show even have?” Brad asked, still wrestling with his label maker. Noel was typing  _ Set One - Grip Crew  _ into the label machine as he answered Bradley’s question.

“We have two big trucks for hauling the set, costumes, and makeup stuff and we have two Greyhound type buses for the cast and crew.”

“Nifty. Do they assign seats on the bus?” Manny asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Will you be sitting with Cody?” Brad inquired, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Fuck you, Watson!” 

“That was actually pretty clever,” Noel nodded, giving Bradley a quick high-five. “Now get labeling. I don’t want to be stuck in here with you two assholes all day.”

“Alright, boss, we’re on it,” Manny saluted. The three men turned their attention to labeling each headset correctly, double and triple checking the list of crew members as they made progress. Organizing a touring show wasn’t easy, but it was a labor of love, and Noel was very  _ very  _ in love. 

* * *

“So you’re going to sit with Noel on the bus instead of me?” Kelsey asked, mock-offended. 

“Is that okay? I can sit with you if you want,” Cody offered, already prepared to apologize in case he’d offended her. Kelsey shook her head and laughed softly.

“Dude, I’m teasing,” she ruffled his hair. He frowned and tried to swipe it back into place. “I’m happy for you, really.”

“Me too, honestly.”

“Well yeah. I hope you’re happy. It’s your relationship, Chodester.”

“I can’t believe he’s my  _ boyfriend _ now,” Cody beamed, face flushing slightly. “This tour is going to be even better than I’d hoped. I get to travel the world with my _lover._”

"Ew! Never say that anywhere near me ever again!" Kelsey ordered. She added a fake gag for emphasis. "You two are disgusting!"

"We're in love, bitch," Cody stuck out his tongue. "Deal with it."

"I really wish I didn't have to, but at least it's you and Noel. You're probably the least likely to bug me with your overly affectionate nonsense."

"Thanks, we really try," Cody deadpanned. They both giggled at his delivery for a moment before Cody spoke again. "I am looking forward to hanging out with you, too. I want to do so many stupid tourist things together, dude."

“We’re going to have a great time and see some amazing stuff,” Kelsey agreed. “Now, let’s get back to packing or they'll leave without us tomorrow morning.”

"Shit. Yeah."

* * *

“Alright! Everyone is present and accounted for, so let’s load up!” Elise announced, standing in front of the two looming Greyhound buses. Noel wasn’t sure how the director had so much energy at three in the morning, but he also didn’t really want to know. It was probably witchcraft (or coffee). While he debated the source of his boss’s ungodly happiness at such a cursed hour of the day, Noel helped the bus driver stow his and Cody’s luggage in the compartment. His half-asleep boyfriend, meanwhile, was getting their seats chosen and prepared. Noel’s heart had nearly burst forty minutes ago, when he had picked Cody up and the blonde man came stumbling out of his house in black joggers and a light pink hoodie that looked to be three sizes too big. It was just  _ adorable  _ and  _ completely unfair.  _ He wanted to wrap his boyfriend up in a blanket and never let the world see him again; but Cody would hate that. He liked being the center of attention and Noel certainly wasn’t going to stop him from pursuing that goal. 

Once the suitcases were solidly Tetris-ed into the bus, the tired audio tech climbed on board and located his seat. Cody was already wrapped in a thin fleece blanket, hood pulled up over his unstyled hair. Noel plopped down next to him and asked, “Why are we even taking the bus to Anaheim? It’s maybe an hour away.”

“Probably because our stop there is super short,” Cody shrugged. He was desperately trying to stay awake. “It’s only two shows.”

“True. It’s probably easier to just get us all there at once and not risk traffic making anyone late for places,” Noel agreed. Cody nodded, eyes lidded. Noel smirked and scooted closer to Cody, whose head was already drifting towards the brunette’s shoulder. Before the driver had even turned the key in the ignition to start their journey, Cody was sleeping again. Cody's warm breath hit Noel’s neck in a rhythmic pattern and the brunette's arm was wrapped protectively around him; this was the most peaceful Noel had felt in years. With his soft, sleeping boyfriend tucked against his side and the bus’s motor rumbling beneath them, he felt free and secure and happy. This was where he belonged. This was his family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, updates will be slower this semester but this story will be finished, I promise. I'm also planning on writing a series of one-shot follow ups if you guys are interested. Let me know! And feel free to give me some prompts for those, since they'll be taking place over the course of the tour. 
> 
> See you again soon!


	16. The Love Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy kids. Here's another chapter. We're closing in on the ending really quick here. 
> 
> Warning: I do reference a sexual act in this chapter but you don't see it happen so I'm not tagging smut (unless y'all really think I should, lemme know). 
> 
> Cody saying "Bitch I'm goin' Peter Pan" in Broke Bitch has me real suspicious.

Anaheim was uneventful. The shows went well, none of the props or costumes went missing, and the wire system worked without issue. Elise was nervous; things transpiring so easily in the world of theatre was usually a bad sign for the future. Thespians were a superstitious lot and the fearless director was no exception. Luckily for her, the first three shows in Vegas also went incredibly well. Nearly every performance ended with a standing ovation and tears pouring from Elise’s already tired eyes. “You kids are going to kill me if you keep doing this well,” she’d said, wrapping her arms around Kelsey and Cody after the second Vegas matinee. Noel and Cody had been so busy with working, however, that they hadn’t seen nearly as much of each other as they had during rehearsal. Aside from the bus rides between locations, all the two men had time to do was pine.

That’s why Noel had stopped Elise in the hall yesterday and made a few quiet requests. The director had been more than happy to acquiesce.

* * *

“I don’t know who my new roomie is going to for the next week,” Cody sighed, shoving his clothes back into his suitcase. “I just hope I don’t get stuck with Teddy again. He’s a cool guy and he keeps his side of the room neat but  _ damn _ can the man snore. Forget sawing logs, Teddy sounds like a whole fucking lumber camp.”

“No worries, I know who you’re rooming with. You’ll be fine,” Kelsey smirked. “Elise let me look at the new schedule in case I wanted to switch things up.”

“Fuck off,” Cody groaned. “Now I  _ know  _ I’m stuck with Teddy again.”

“Whatever.”

“Why do we even have to switch rooms anyway? We’re still in Vegas for another eight nights.”

“There was a roommate assignment conflict,” Kelsey shrugged. She flopped back onto the bed. “I don’t know who it was that got into a disagreement, though. I just know that the girls don’t have to move around if we don’t want to.”

“This will be super. Just  _ super _ .”

“Stop whining like a little bitch and pack, Cody.”

“Help me out if you’re so bored.”

“Ugh, fine.”

* * *

Cody lugged his suitcase through the door and glanced around his new room. A somewhat familiar duffel bag was already resting on the bed nearest to the door.  _ Good. I prefer to be by the window, anyway.  _ Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad week after all. He set his stuff on the vacant bed before checking the bathroom and tiny balcony for any signs of human life; he didn’t hear or see anyone else around.  _ Where’s my new roomie? Is it Casper the friendly ghost or what?  _ He was so focused on solving this tiny mystery that his heart nearly jumped into his throat when the lock clicked and the door to the room swung open behind him. He spun on his heel to see who his disappearing bunkmate was. Standing in the doorway, smirking like the Devil himself, stood Noel Miller. “Oh hey, are you lost? You’re way too pretty for me to afford but I can direct you to the star’s room if you want, baby.”

“You douche,” Cody beamed. He might have flown into Noel’s arms, he wasn’t sure. One second the blonde man was standing next to his bed and by the next second his forehead was pressed against his boyfriend’s. “I missed you so much.”

“Yeah, I missed you too. That’s why I asked Elise to swap our roommates around.”

“ _ You _ did that?”

“Like I said, I missed you.”

“That’s...that’s pretty damn romantic, actually. How am I going to one-up you on this, dude? That’s not even close to being fair.”

“I’m truly awful,” Noel replied, pouting dramatically, “Whatever shall we do?”

“I was thinking we could order a pizza and snuggle. Maybe watch a movie?” 

“That sounds like an excellent plan, Pan. What kind of pizza?”

“That pun physically wounded me, I want you to know.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright, that’s why I love you.”

“What?” Noel asked, heart frozen in his chest.  _ Did he really say what I think he just said?  _ Cody’s eyes were wide in shock, as if he’d surprised himself alongside Noel. 

“I uh...I love you.”

“I love you too, babe,” Noel grinned, scooping Cody into his arms for a monsterous hug. The brunette man swung his boyfriend in a circle before placing him back on his feet and bestowing him with a kiss fit for  _ The Princess Bride.  _ “I love you so much.”

“Alright, alright,” Cody blushed. “So, what should we do tonight, then?”

“Something ridiculously indulgent and crazy. We have a pretty nice discount for room service,” Noel shrugged. “I plan to take full advantage of that while I’m in  _ Vegas.  _ While we’re making choices, babe, what movie should we watch?”

“Are you feeling romantic comedy, action, or horror?”

“Oh, let’s go scary! That way you can hide your head on my titties like a little bitch and I can pretend I’m cool and aloof even though I’m also absolutely terrified,” Noel suggested. “Makes for good snuggling.”

“I would like to suggest ordering a couple beers as well. They tend to make scary movies even better, somehow.”

“You’re right. I’m also giving you a promotion from private to tactician. You have a brilliant military mind, kid. It’ll take you places.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Cody chuckled. He tossed Noel the remote and glanced down at the hotel’s room service menu, which he’d taken from the bedside table’s top drawer. The cast and crew had been hired to perform at the Bellagio, one of Vegas’s better casinos; in the hopes that they’d stick around and spend some of their money locally, the cast had been granted a decent room service discount from the hotel’s two signature restaurants. Noel was sure he’d gained at least five pounds in Vegas alone, but he also knew their other stops wouldn’t be nearly as indulgent so he didn’t really care. After perusing the food options and deciding that he was in the mood for the classics, Cody piped up again. “What do you think about  _ Jennifer’s Body _ ?”

“Oh shit I haven’t seen that since like, what, junior year of high school?”

“Same, probably. All I remember is the scene with the emo guy.”

“Well, we have a movie all figured out. Huzzah!”

“And our pizza choice?” Cody asked, looking over to his boyfriend. Noel’s eyebrows scrunched together as he scanned their options. After a minute he glanced up to make eye contact with Cody.

“I was thinking deep dish pepperoni. Stay traditional and delicious.”

“To be totally honest with you, I was thinking the same thing,” Cody agreed. “You call down and I’ll sign into the pay-per-view.”

“Sounds good, babe.”

“I owe Elise a huge thank you note.”

Noel knew Cody was referencing their accommodations and the roomie switch, but he was thinking about getting hired and meeting Cody when he replied, “Yeah, me too.”

* * *

_ “I’m going to eat your soul and shit it out, Lesnicki!” _ Megan Fox screamed as Jennifer. 

_ “I thought you only murder boys?”  _ Needy Lesnicki replied. The camera zoomed in slightly on Amanda Seyfried’s watery eyes, conveying her confusion and heartbreak to the audience. Cody was finally peeking back out from Noel’s chest, where his head had been buried for the last few minutes as Jennifer, Chip, and Needy fought it out. 

_ “I go both ways,” _ Jennifer/Megan shrugged. Noel jostled Cody, who elbowed him gently back.

“God, the homoerotic subtext in this movie is  _ insane, _ ” Noel stated, running a hand through his hair. 

“I don’t really think this counts as subtext,” Cody retorted. “They straight-up made out a few scenes ago. There’s nothing subtextual about  _ that.” _

“Fair enuff.”

“God, this would be the worst high school experience ever.”

“I think coming out might be on par, honestly,” Noel shrugged. “But yeah, this would totally suck.”

“My high school coming-out experience wasn’t that bad, but if you were heinously murdered by my best friend I’d be heartbroken.”

“What?”

“Like Chip. If you bled out in my arms, I would lose my ever-loving mind. I totally understand and empathize with Needy here.”

“Well it’s a good thing I have no plans to sacrifice myself to a demon to protect you,” Noel teased. Cody snuggled up against his side again, burrowing closer. Noel felt the actor's hand clench tightly against the skin of his hip where it had previously only been resting. With the arm that wasn’t wrapped around his boyfriend, Noel reached to stroke the blonde’s soft hair. “Are you okay, babe?”

“I missed you,” Cody sighed. “A lot.”

“We went over that.”

“Shut up and kiss me,” Cody ordered. 

“We’ll miss the end of the movie.”

“Do you think I give a solitary shit about the end of this movie? Please, kiss me _ . _ ”

Cody’s lips were insistent as they dragged up Noel’s jawline and into the hollow behind the brunette’s ear. Noel pretended to ignore his boyfriend, eyes trained on the TV but seeing nothing; everything around him that wasn’t  _ Cody  _ felt blurred out. His whole mind was focused on the sensation of the actor’s teeth grazing his earlobe. “C’mon babe.”

“Remember, you asked for this.”

Noel flipped himself over, pinning Cody against the pillows beneath them as he straddled the actor’s waist. The blonde squeaked, hazel eyes growing wide in surprise. “You wanna play dirty? I can play  _ dirty.”  _

Cody’s brain was silent. No sassy comebacks, no snappy one liners, only Noel’s lips a hair’s breadth away from his own. Only the feel of Noel’s calloused hands against his arms as the brunette held him gently, like he would break if the other man applied any more pressure. Only... _ oh god he’s kissing me again.  _ Cody kissed back with equal passion and frustration. For two weeks they’d been stealing quick kisses in passing or texting briefly every night after the show, both exhausted from work and ready for bed. The conversations had been too short and unfulfilling. 

There was no exhaustion evident in Noel’s kissing now, however, and Cody was enjoying every second. 

“You’re really pretty,” Cody muttered between kisses. “And I’m so lucky.”

“You’re lucky? I get to make out with the star of the show. I’m living every high school theatre kid’s dream right now. Do you know how many bitches buy posters of you from our merchandise kiosk?”

“No, and I don’t care. Kiss me again, you ass.”

Noel’s lips returned, teasingly soft as he pressed his lips to Cody’s once again. He maneuvered his head to the side, kissing down the column of the blonde man’s neck at a dangerously slow pace. By the time he reached Cody’s clavicle and gave a forceful nip his prisoner was writhing beneath him. “Careful there, kiddo, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

On the screen behind Noel, Amanda Seyfriend was hitch-hiking. Neither man was paying attention, however, as the credits of their date night film of choice began to roll. “Speaking of divine intervention,” Cody gasped out. “How did I end up with a demon like you as a boyfriend?”

“Luck,” Noel smiled. He sat back on his haunches, still straddling Cody’s thighs but far enough back that his boyfriend could sit up a little. They were both breathing hard and beaming, eyes only for each other. The hotel could have been burning down around them and neither would have cared enough to move. “Wanna shower?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

“Ten Minutes Ago,” Noel said. Cody blinked up at him in confusion. They’d finished two more beers each before showering, which led to making out more in the shower and exchanging fast, tipsy hand jobs. The high of their first sexual experience together was just now wearing off and Noel’s mind had started to focus on answering one of Cody’s early questions. 

“Huh?”

“Ten Minutes Ago, from  _ Cinderella _ ,” Noel reiterated. “That’s my favorite love song from a musical.”

“Oh,” Cody’s mouth broke into a smile. “Why?”

“When you said it was your third favorite musical during rehearsal one time, I went home and dug out my DVD. I loved Brandi, man. Then, listening to the lyrics, I just...I thought of  _ you  _ and everything started fitting together.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“Just like you, baby.”

“Which verse is your favorite?” Cody asked, blushing furiously from Noel’s compliment.  _ I just saw and touched your dick and you didn’t blush once; why now?  _ Noel thought to himself.

Noel cleared his throat self-consciously and sang the verse, quietly and far more softly than the musical instructed:

_ “In the arms of my love I’m flying _

_ Over mountain and meadow and glen, _

_ And I like it so well _

_ That for all I can tell _

_ I may never come down again! _

_ I may never come down to earth again!” _

“You’re a pretty great singer for a tech,” Cody teased.

“Hidden talent,” Noel shrugged. “Now go to sleep. We have work tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Cody rolled his eyes. It was nearing 2am, though, and Noel was right. They needed their sleep. “Goodnight. I love you.”

“Goodnight Cody,” Noel whispered, accompanied by a kiss. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Concerns? IDEAS FOR ONE-SHOTS?? PLEASE?
> 
> Leave me cities they should hit on the tour or places they should explore together. I need some ideas from my TMG fam.


	17. Break A Leg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here she is, baby! Another chapter!

Elise had been right to trust her theatrical superstitions. The play had been doing far too well; nothing had broken or gotten lost, and the cast was entirely intact. A minor catastrophe was well overdue for the cast and crew of  _ Peter Pan _ . So, of course, the universe obliged. 

During their final performance at the Bellagio, one of Cody’s harness straps snapped. The sudden movement of his reaction disengaged the safety mechanism at his waist and pitched Cody into empty air. The actor dropped six feet, landing on his stomach on the hard wood of the stage. The wind was knocked out of him and he was clearly shocked; but even through his confusion, Cody had the brilliance to suck in a breath, sit up, rub his head and say, “Tinkerbell! You said this wouldn’t happen again!”

The audience laughed. Their panic was easily put to rest by Cody’s natural charisma and quick-thinking, but Noel could see from the booth that his boyfriend was close to tears. The audio manager flicked his headset mic on and asked Lisa, “Is everyone okay up there? What’s the plan?”

“Cody gave me the signal, he isn’t in any pain, but he needs to get off the stage. We’re going to do intermission one scene early so we can switch out his rigging and let him calm down; please start playing your filler music as soon as the curtain closes. And I’m sure he’ll want to see you back here, Noel.”

“Got it,” he acknowledged. The tone of her last sentence had been much softer, more personal;  _ Cody was definitely scared and upset.  _ Noel turned the microphone back off and relayed Lisa’s instructions to Bradley, his booth partner for the night. “I’m going to check on Cody but I’ll be back before intermission ends, alright?”

“Yeah, dude. Go for it. He was looking pretty shake up there when he took his exit,” Brad encouraged. Noel watched the curtains close, saw the lights go up, and pressed  _ Play  _ on the intermission’s precisely 10-minute long instrumental track. He ducked out of the Bellagio’s sound booth and darted backstage to search for Cody. He found Kelsey first. 

“Where is he?”

“He’s with Mike right now, changing harnesses. He’s pretty shaken up.”

“I could tell,” Noel sighed. “Thanks, Kels.”

The determined brunette took off again, weaving through the bustle of the cast and crew until he reached the back corner of the left wing, where Cody and Mike were huddled over a canvas bag. Noel approached them quickly, tapped the blonde on the shoulder, and asked, “Hey babe, you okay?” 

Cody stood and spun around, flinging himself against Noel’s chest. His arms flew up to wrap tightly around Noel's neck in search of comfort. “No, not really. If I’d been a foot higher I could have broken a bone or gotten a nasty concussion. For a split second I thought I was going to die.”

“Shh, baby,” Noel pressed a soft kiss against Cody’s sweaty, make-up covered forehead and rubbed his hands up and down the actor’s back, the same way he’d done with Cody’s arms at the bar all those weeks ago. He breathed in and out evenly, hoping that his terrified boyfriend’s heavy breathing would slow to match. He’d been reading up on panic attacks online and trying to figure out quick ways to calm his boyfriend down in instances such as these, where they were pressed for time. “You didn’t break any bones tonight and it’ll never happen again, right Mike?”

“It absolutely will not be happening again,” Mike agreed emphatically. His eyebrows were narrowed in anger. “I’m going to have all of the harnesses checked over before our next show and weight tested with someone fifteen pounds over. This was ridiculous! I don’t know how it could have happened in the first place. We’ve been incredibly careful.”

“The only thing that matters to me is Cody’s safety and happiness,” Elise interjected, joining the small group. She gave her lead actor’s shoulder a gentle pat, “I’m so sorry this happened, kiddo.”

“I’ll be fine,” Cody admitted, slowly releasing his death grip on Noel. “It just scared me.”

“Rightfully so,” Elise nodded. This wasn’t the director’s first rodeo, she knew that validating Cody’s feelings was important for both his mental state and his ability to perform. “Are you okay getting back up there and finishing the show tonight?”

“The show must go on,” Cody winked, slipping easily into his back-up harness and allowing Mike to adjust it. “Plus, this is our last night in Vegas. I wouldn’t want to miss my final standing ovation.”

“Alright,” the director sighed, fond smile overtaking the worry written across her face. “Thank you for thinking so quickly out there and ad-libbing the Tinkerbell line. The audience reacted pretty well to our mistake because of your quick thinking.”

“That’s what I do best,” Cody said. “I think on my feet. Or my ass. Wherever I land, really. I’ll try to think fast no matter what, boss!”

“You’re a gem, Cody, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to share you with another company or director,” Elise beamed. “Alright, I need to go fix a lighting issue. Break a leg!”

“Alright kiddo, you’re good to go,” Mike grunted, hauling himself back to his feet from where he’d been kneeling to fix Cody’s last belt clasp. He tugged the harness bag closed and threw it over his shoulder. “Break a leg.”

“Thanks.”

“You gonna be okay?” Noel asked, looking his boyfriend directly in the eyes. Cody melted against his chest for one last, lingering hug. Noel felt Cody nod, his nose rubbing gently against the skin of Noel’s neck two or three glorious times. 

“Yeah. I’ll be okay. I just might need some extra snuggles tonight.”

“I think we can manage that.”

“Excellent.”

“Two minute warning!” 

“Thank you, two!” Noel and Cody replied in unison. The call-and-response of curtain times was involuntary by now, conditioned into the core of their beings by years of theatrical work. It made Noel smile even wider. 

“See you after the show,” he said, kissing Cody gently on the lips, letting their breath mingle as he pulled away slowly.  _ Good, now he’s breathing normally again. _ “Break a leg, babydoll. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Cody replied, nuzzling his head against the side of Noel’s neck once more before running to get hooked back into the flight rigging. Noel made his way back to the sound booth and slid into his seat just as the lights of the theatre lowered again and the intermission music ended.

“He’s gonna be fine,” he informed Bradley, whose eyebrows were raised in question. Brad nodded and flicked on his headset, ready for the second half of the show to begin. Things progressed smoothly through the end of the play, with no more accidents in sight. As Noel suspected, Cody made his final bow in Vegas to a standing ovation. 

* * *

“You alright, babe?” Noel asked. The blonde man pulled himself tightly against the smooth planes of Noel’s bare chest and sighed, still trying to organize his thoughts. Noel offered him an out, “Need a second to think?” 

Cody nodded. With one hand, Noel began playing with the hair at the back of Cody’s neck. The other hand rubbed up and down his boyfriend’s spine, tracing the familiar curve over and over in his usual calming way. Eventually, the blonde managed to squeak out, “I was so  _ scared _ . I knew it could happen but I never thought it actually would. I could have been so much higher up, or in the middle of a trick. It was incredibly lucky that we were just rising up for a scene exit.”

“Do you need to cry it out?”

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead, baby. I’ll be here to love you through it, if you want.”

“Really?” Cody asked, his eyes already red and overflowing with tears. Noel’s only answer was a soft, firm kiss to each of his boyfriend’s dampening cheeks. He handed Cody the box of hotel-standard tissues from the bedside table. Noel sat up slightly to tug the other man onto his lap; from this angle he could cradle Cody against him more firmly. Cody, meanwhile, was happy that he would be able to blow his nose without getting snot all over Noel. He gratefully accepted the tissues and took a deep breath. “I was really scared for the last half of the show. I felt the belt give way and I felt my leg slip out of the safety catch and I panicked, Noel.”

“It’s okay, baby. You can tell me as much or as little as you want.”

“I thought the show would be ruined. My life flashed before my eyes in the two seconds it took for me to hit the stage. Not to be d-dramatic, o-or anyth-thing,” he started sobbing, no longer able to control the emotions that had been building all day, “It w-was so scar-ry.”

“It was terrifying just to watch. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through today, sweetheart.”

Cody continued crying so Noel kept playing with his hair, one arm supporting his back and the other wrapped around to cradle his head. 

“I’m so proud of you for getting back up there even though you were clearly shaken and nervous,” Noel continued. “But you’re so damn  _ amazing  _ that you got a standing ovation, even after a performance with a technical malfunction. Do you know how hard that is? You’re so  _ talented. _ ”

“You th-think so?” Cody asked. He blew his nose and tossed the used tissue into the trash can. Noel bounced him on his legs like he would a small child. 

“Two pointer, baby!”

“Th-three pointer,” Cody rebutted, smiling through the tears Noel smiled back.

“Alright, you win. Three pointer. Anyway, I think you did amazing, babe. And you heard, Elise, right? She said she wasn’t willing to share you with any other directors, which probably means that she’s getting loads of calls looking for your management information.”

“Thanks, h-hot stu-uff.”

“We should order dinner soon,” Noel suggested, changing the subject. “Maybe watch another movie? We just have the bus ride to Phoenix tomorrow so we can stay up a little later if you want and enjoy a final Vegas date night.”

“I get t-to pick the movie,” Cody demanded, voice already getting closer to normal. He’d filtered all of his feelings out with a good cry and he was ready to go. Noel knew the pattern now; he’d figured things out shortly after their first fateful meeting in the bathroom. It had popped up during his panic attack research. Cody let his stress build up to a certain point because it encouraged him and pressured him to do well, but once every few weeks he had to press the  _ restart  _ button so he didn’t explode or spiral into depression. He’d cry it out, take a shower, and keep going. It worked for Cody and clearly didn’t hinder his introspection or personal growth, so Noel didn’t bring it up. He just kept his eye on the cycle so he was prepared for the breakdowns when they happened.

“I’m going to order food. Want me to surprise you?”

“Yeah! That sounds fun!”

“Cool. And you can surprise me with the movie.”

“Perfect.”

Noel ordered Cody chicken tenders and french fries and got himself a bacon burger with extra onion rings, knowing full well they’d end up sharing both plates of food. He got them each a chocolate shake, too, to cheer Cody up and to splurge during their final night at the nice hotel. Cody, meanwhile, had chosen to watch  _ Twilight  _ as a joke (and to lighten his own mood). He hadn’t seen it in years but somehow he knew that they could get some top-tier inside jokes out of this movie.  _ Twilight  _ wasn’t quite the same as  _ Jennifer’s Body  _ but Noel’s wit stopped for no one, not even barely pubescent Kristen Stewart.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Noel laughed, gazing at the title screen. “Wait until the food gets here, you’re going to lose your damn mind.”

“Let’s eat first and then watch the movie. I don’t want to miss any opportunities for zingers.”

“You make a compelling argument, boo.”

“I know.”

* * *

“Dude, Bella was horny as  _ fuck, _ ” Noel laughed, watching Edward fly backwards through his human girlfriend’s bedroom and slam into the wall. “That bitch wanted his sparkly, diamond-studded dick so  _ bad _ .”

“Edward, I know you’re over a hundred years old and have never seen a titty but  _ baby, _ ” Cody pleaded in a high falsetto. “Touch me all over with your ice-cold hands!”

“Holy shit,” Noel wheezed, doubled over from laughter. If Cody didn’t stop making such great jokes he was going to throw up. Tears were making their way out of his eyes as he leaned back again to suck in a breath. “Babe, please. You’re going to kill me.”

“I think that was the point of the whole franchise,” Cody teased. 

“You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah, well, I’m  _ your  _ asshole.”

That sentence gave Noel some ideas; some very naughty ideas that he tried to quickly dismiss before they could take root in his brain and give him a hard-on at the worst possible time. The last thing he needed right now was Cody teasing him about some fake crush on Robert Pattinson; that would be truly awful. He already knew his adorable boyfriend would be making  _ “irrevocably”  _ jokes for the next month, anyway. For the moment, though, he set everything else aside.

The only thing holding any of Noel’s attention at the moment was the warmth of Cody’s body nestled against his chest. He knew how Edward felt, really. Probably less emo, but just as strong. He’d do anything to protect Cody and make him happy; this was true love, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Please? They're the only reasons I still try to update between a full schedule of credits and 30+ hours of retail work a week.
> 
> I hope you're still enjoying it, guys.


	18. Curtain Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, guys. 
> 
> A lot has happened in the past few weeks. Some of it was good but most of it wasn't. I'm going to finish this story with a short chapter and maybe I'll be back with some one-shots later. My sincerest apologies. I love you all a ton and I appreciate your comments, kudos, and support.
> 
> Have a good spring.
> 
> Much Love,  
TallQueen

“Do you think we’ll see an armadillo?” Cody asked. Despite the fact that they'd been on the bus for nearly three hours, Cody was practically bouncing in his seat as he absorbed every detail of the passing desert. Noel shrugged, more tired than excited about their change in locations. He'd spent the early afternoon packing, organizing, and checking the numbered labels on every headset owned by the troupe. He had known about the workload of touring but the experience was still tough; he needed a nap and a shot of tequila more than anything.

“Honestly man, I have no clue.”

“Are they even native to Arizona?”

“Lemme check real quick,” Noel offered, pulling his phone from his hoodie pocket. Grouchy as Noel was, it was nearly impossible to be upset by Cody's child-like wonder or seemingly endless questions. He'd clearly never seen a landscape like this before. 

“Thanks, hot stuff,” Cody smiled, eyes already glued to the window again. Noel surfed through various lists of armadillo facts on his phone for a moment before drawing a conclusion worth sharing.

“Well babe, according to the infinite wisdom of the internet, armadillos are _ not _native to Arizona. We might see one anyway, though, since they keep wandering across state lines and hanging out.”

“Awesome!”

“I guess they’re pretty cool, yeah.”

“They come with their own suits of armor and you _ guess _they’re pretty cool?” Cody guffawed. "Armadillos rock."

“Would I be cooler if I came with my own suit of armor?” Noel asked, glancing over at the excitable blonde. Cody rolled his eyes over towards the brunette and made a face. 

“Duh.”

“Alright. Let me add that to my shopping list for this week,” Noel teased. Cody stuck his tongue out. “Careful, babe. Your face might freeze like that.”

“That would really put a damper on the show,” Cody sighed dramatically. 

“Just a little bit, yeah.”

“When will we be getting to the hotel?” 

Noel glanced down at his phone again. Elise had been sending ETA texts to the crew managers every few hours and the latest update had been forty-five minutes ago. “According to the boss-lady we should be arriving at our newest destination around midnight.”

“Thank goodness we don’t have a show tomorrow. I’d be absolutely dead on my wires.”

“True that. Tomorrow we can chill and hang out by the pool,” Noel sighed. He relaxed back into his lumpy bus seat at the mere thought of 24 free hours with Cody, “We should sleep in tomorrow and maybe go out for lunch together. It's been awhile since we've had a real date."

“Or…”

“Or?” Noel echoed, cocking a curious eyebrow. Even in the darkening bus carriage Noel could pick up Cody’s bright blush. 

“Or we could hang out in the room for a bit; you know, just the two of us? You did say we’d have it to ourselves again.”

“What are you suggesting, Mr. Star-of-the-Show?" Noel asked, hoping to tease a naughty answer out of his delightfully innocent boyfriend. Most of the other bus passengers had turned off their reading lights and gotten comfortable, opting to watch movies or take naps as the sun set. The two set techs seated in front of them were asleep; Brad and Manny were behind them watching a movie on Brad's laptop. Nobody was paying attention to their conversation and Noel was pleased with the opportunity to make Cody wriggle a little.

"We could...uh..."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we could shower together or something," Cody decided. Noel leaned closer, letting his lips ghost against Cody's ear as he whispered.

"Or something?"

Cody swallowed audibly but didn't move away. "Yeah. I'm sure you and I can find some way to pass the time."

"Sounds good, baby." Cody shivered at Noel's gravelly tone and leaned back in his chair, so Noel backed off. The two young men sat in silence for a few moments while Noel let Cody calm back down. Getting the blonde riled up was great fun, but Noel didn't want to make his boyfriend uncomfortable. Once the tension had diminished a little, Noel spoke up again. "Do you want to keep rooming together or do you want to take a break after Phoenix?"

“I think I’d like to keep rooming with you if that's alright. Sleeping alone isn’t really my jam.”

“I didn’t used to like sharing a bed.”

“Oh.”

“I didn't _u__sed _ to_. _Now I don’t know that I like sleeping alone, either.”

“You’re warm and you smell nice, why would I want to sleep by myself anyway?” Cody asked rhetorically, wrinkling his nose at the thought. The expression was adorable and Noel couldn’t help himself, leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on the actor’s cheek. 

“You’re too damn cute for your own good, Pan.”

“Sorry,” Cody shrugged, “I can’t help it. It’s genetics.”

“I’m writing a strongly worded complaint to your parents.”

“I dare you.”

“Don’t start with me!”

“Punk.”

“Bitch.”

“I love you,” Cody stated. 

“Yeah. I love you too," Noel replied. Cody pulled out his phone and plugged some earbuds in, offering one to Noel. As the familiar flute music of Cody's favorite love song started up, Noel wrapped his arm around Cody’s shoulders and let the other man rest against his chest. It was comfortable, easy, and they both felt incredibly safe.

_ "We kiss in a shadow. We hide from the moon. _

_ Our meetings are few and over too soon," _crooned Carlos Rivas in his deep baritone. Cody was mouthing the words unconsciously against Noel's black hoodie and the brunette's heart suddenly cracked in a new and terrifying way. Something incredible had dawned on him; a thought he never knew would be possible for someone like him, someone so used to being self-sufficient and lonely, but the thought was bright and clear at the front of his mind. Even though the sky was deepening to the bruised purple-blue of early evening Cody shone like the sun in the seat next to him. Noel pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his blonde head and sighed contentedly. 

_ When the moment comes and the time is right, _ Noel thought happily to himself, _ I’m going to buy a ring. _


End file.
